Turks remember quake victims

Earthquake survivors remember those they have lost

Ceremonies in north-western Turkey are marking the first anniversary of a devastating earthquake that killed at least 17,000 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Candle-lit vigils were held at 0302 local time (0002 GMT) - exactly the time the earthquake struck.

We can't believe we are alive

Kemal Ozcan

Civil action groups urged people to hang black flags from balconies, leave their lights on and blow whistles.

People wearing black clothes and carrying black flags gathered in public squares in Golcuk, Adapazari, and Izmit - the three hardest hit cities.

"We are here to remember," said Kemal Ozcan, a retired shop owner who was trapped under rubble with his wife for nearly four hours when their bedroom ceiling collapsed.

"We still can't escape the feelings of that night," he said. "We can't believe we are alive."

At a memorial service in Golcuk one survivor, Metin Sagdic, who lost at least 30 of his relatives said: "We feel as if it happened yesterday."

He said some of the bodies of his cousins have not been recovered.

Later in the day religious services will be held in mosques across the region to remember the dead.

Government criticised

The BBC correspondent in Turkey says many people are still coming to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

And many people live in fear of more earthquakes.

Golcuk: At the epicentre of the earthquake

"We will never forget what happened on 17 August," said one resident of Golcuk. "I still fear that another quake will strike in the small hours of the night even though I received psychological treatment."

On Tuesday hundreds of people carrying red and white carnations marched through an area of Istanbul that was partly destroyed by the earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the Richter scale.

Residents of the Avcilar area observed a minute of silence and then walked to a site where a five-story building collapsed killing nine people.

A woman sat on the ground crying, holding a photograph of her daughter, one of several hundred killed in the area.

The rest of the city escaped the worst of the damage.

The Turkish Government, severely criticised following the earthquake for the inefficiency of its relief effort, has been accused of not taking adequate steps to avoid a repeat of the tragedy.

Tens of thousands of survivors are still living in temporary accommodation.