Rescue workers at the site of the collapsed Guclu Bahce building. About 65 people died there.May 4, 2023 at 9:42 PMFirat Yayla, 21, who was rescued without serious injuries from the ruins of the collapsed Guclu Bahce complex in Antakya, Turkey, in Istanbul, April 6, 2023.
What Yayla and his mother had not known was that the system to ensure that buildings were safely constructed to code had been tainted by money and politics. That system prioritized speed over rules and technical expertise. That building spree turned middle-class landowners like the Guclus, for whom the Guclu Bahce complex was named, into developers and landlords. Erdogan, who will stand for reelection on May 14, used construction as a vessel for economic growth and a symbol of Turkey’s progress. Local politicians from all parties benefited from the jobs, housing and off-the-books payments that commonly flowed from it all.
For the Guclu family, several of whom lived in the building, the collapse created a fatal rift. Survivors have turned on each other amid a lawsuit, a criminal investigation and a bitter search for answers: “He convinced us that he’d build the most magnificent project in our family name,” said Yusuf Guclu, another cousin who lived in the complex. He said that Mehmet had promised to protect against the earthquakes everyone in the region knew to expect.
Getting a project started often hinges on unwritten rules that can be as important as technical expertise. In this part of southern Turkey, for example, contractors have known for years that a donation to the local soccer club can move a project along, said Hikmet Cincin, the former head of the soccer club. Antakya’s mayor at the time, Lutfu Savas, serves as the club’s honorary president.
But Savas, himself a former member of Erdogan’s party, was adamant that was not the case with Guclu Bahce. “Although the ministry had the authority to inspect, they didn’t,” he said. The environmental ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Guclu Bahce’s apartments were among the region’s most expensive, costing as much as $160,000. But Altas promised upscale amenities and unparalleled safety, former residents said.
Few have argued that these developers knowingly put people in deadly buildings. Guclu’s own family lived there, after all, as did Altas’ son. Turkey deemed Guclu a qualified engineer, and the local government — measured by the number of officials at the grand opening — supported the project.