Bam: Iran's Ancient City

Quake destroys historic Silk Road city
Bam, Iran - December 26 2003, 5:27 AM

"The historic quarter of Bam has been completely destroyed and many of our countrymen are underneath the ruins," said Mohammad Ali Karimi, the governor of Kerman province, where Bam, 600 miles south-east of Teheran, is located on the edge of the Lut desert.

What Happened
A magnitude 6.6 quake struck the southeastern city of Bam on December 26, killing an estimated 43,000 people and destroying a 2,000 year-old fortress near the city.

Iranian authorities ended general search-and-rescue operations on Jan 2, 2004, despite the rescue of a 97-year-old Shahrbanoo Mazandarani after 8 days under the rubbles. On January 8, Thirteen days after being buried underneath earthquake rubble, a 56-year old man was found alive but in poor health in the southeastern Iranian city of Bam, an International Red Crescent spokesman said. Aid workers told Reuters the rescued man had travelled from a nearby village to Bam for medical treatment and was staying with his sister when the earthquake struck.

Relief workers from Iran and more than 60 countries have been trying to help tens of thousands of survivors who are homeless and without basic necessities.

Local people have told reporters that on the afternoon of the 25th of December there were some light tremors in the area but this would not be unusual for the region.

Friday is not a working day in Iran so many people came home for the weekend on the evening of Thursday the 25th of December.

At around 4am on Friday the 26th there was an earthquake, which shook houses. Some people got up and went out into the street but after a short period they returned to their beds. Then at 5.27am the second earthquake struck. It measure 6.6 on the Richter scale and the epicentre was the city of Bam.

Given the level of destruction it is probably safe to assume that the earthquake occurred close to the surface. Buildings collapsed. Roofs and ceilings tend to be made of many layers of bricks to keep the house cool in summer. These collapsed immediately burying tens of thousands of people under tons of rubble.

Bam, Iran

ANCIENT BAM

A moment is all it will take for you long to realize that Bam is an extraordinary historical site. Many of the well-visited historical sites in the world, such as the Acropolis in Athens and the Coliseum in Rome, only give the archaeologist and tourist a limited slice of history. Bam, on the other hand, clearly displayed the imprints of over 2000 years of continuous history. Surrounded by inhospitable deserts and mountains, the Arg-i-Bam seemed to shine out amongst its inhospitable surroundings.

When you strolled through front gates, you came face to face with ancient Bam. Houses, schools, mosques, gymnasiums, and bathhouses stand in the same places they did centuries ago. These structures maintained their allure, and they had the rare ability to give visitors a most inspiring adrenaline rush at first sight. Mud and sand stone buildings held much of their original shape. Little imagination was required in viewing the site and grasping how these people went about their daily lives. The superb archways and narrow dirt paths between apartment blocks, shops, markets and mosques provided the privacy and intrigue that made this historical site Iran's most treasured.

Major Earthquakes in Iran Since 1976
Date	Region	City	Magnitude	Killed
02/22/2005	Central	Zarand	6.4	550
12/26/2003	South East	Bam	6.6	26,200
05/28/2003	North		6.4	36
06/22/2002	North West		6.5	500
05/10/1997	North		7.1	1,500
06/21/1990	North West		5.8	20
06/20/1990	North West		7.3-7.7	50,000
06/11/1981	Central	Kerman	6.9	3,000
09/16/1978	North East	Tabas	7.7	25,000
03/21/1977	South West	Bandar Abbas	6.9	167
11/24/1976	North West	Yerevan	6.9	100
Tue Feb 22, 6:53 AM ET Middle East - AP - By The Associated Press