05.10.2026

When I say that I have been living and working in the Turkish real estate market since 2007, I'm almost always asked the same thing: "But what about earthquakes?" It's the right question. I'll explain what really happened in 2023, why some buildings collapsed while others stood, which districts of Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya and Bodrum are safer, and how DDA Real Estate Turkey checks every property before offering it to a Client. I'll also tell you where I live myself, because I chose my own home by the same rules we use to select real estate for our Clients.

It was a tragedy I cannot write about calmly. On the night of February 6, 2023, two extremely powerful shocks struck the southeast of the country: magnitude 7.7 near Pazarcık and 7.6 near Elbistan, in Kahramanmaraş Province. Eleven provinces were affected. According to AFAD, more than 53,000 people died, and more than 300,000 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged. Almost half of the deaths occurred in Hatay Province.

The earthquake was truly enormous: two shocks of that strength in one day, a fault rupture hundreds of kilometers long. But when rescuers and experts began clearing the rubble, the main thing became clear. It wasn't only the shaking that destroyed the buildings. The buildings were destroyed by the people who built them that way.

I studied the investigation materials closely, because for my line of work this is a professional matter. The picture repeated itself from city to city.

Skimping on foundations and extra floors. The best-known example is the "Rönesans Rezidans" residential complex in Antakya. 269 people died there. The investigation showed that the foundation was about 3 meters deep instead of the required roughly 10, with no piles. The permit allowed 4 floors, but 12 were built. The developer was detained in February 2023, and his trial is ongoing.

Cut load-bearing columns. In Diyarbakır, 77 people died in the "Serin-2" building. Experts found that on the ground floor, where commercial premises were located, a load-bearing column had been cut to make a shop more spacious. For the sake of a few square meters of retail space, the building lost its support.

Corruption and weak oversight. Buildings were constructed without projects, without soil testing, with poor concrete and rebar. They were later "legalized" through amnesties.

The state responded harshly. According to the Ministry of Justice of Turkey, 2,380 people are under investigation, 2,591 criminal cases have been opened, more than 200 people are in custody or have already been convicted, and almost a thousand are under judicial supervision. They include developers, contractors, engineers and officials.

Now for the important part. In those same cities, buildings constructed to modern codes, on good ground and with honest inspection, remained standing. This is the best proof that seismic safety in Turkey depends not on the country map but on the specific building.

After the 1999 İzmit earthquake, Turkey began changing the rules, and after 2023 it tightened controls even further.

The TBDY 2018 codes are considered among the most advanced in the world. A building is designed not for the "regional average," but for the coordinates of the plot and the properties of the soil. That is why, for me, the line is simple: a building constructed after 2019 to a project with building inspection and a 1980s building without a survey are two completely different products, even if they stand on the same street.

Look at the upper map. The darkest red bands are the country's three main faults. The North Anatolian Fault stretches across the north from the Sea of Marmara to the east, the East Anatolian Fault runs from Van to the Mediterranean, and the Dead Sea Fault extends south through Hatay. It was at the junction of the East Anatolian Fault and the Dead Sea Fault that the 2023 disaster occurred.

Now pay attention to the light-colored zones. Central Anatolia with Konya and Aksaray, as well as the Mediterranean coast from Antalya to Mersin, are shaded in yellow and orange: this hazard level is noticeably lower than in the northwest and southeast of the country.

The lower map shows Istanbul up close. The fault runs along the floor of the Sea of Marmara, so the southern coastal districts are marked in red: Avcılar, Beylikdüzü, Zeytinburnu on the European side, and Kadıköy, Maltepe, Kartal, Pendik, Tuzla on the Asian side. The farther north toward the Black Sea, the lighter the color. Sarıyer, Arnavutköy, Beykoz and the Black Sea coast are in the yellow low-hazard zone.

To check a specific address precisely, use the official interactive AFAD map: tdth.afad.gov.tr. There you can enter the building's coordinates and get the estimated parameters for that location.

No, and this is perhaps the biggest myth. The hazard to Istanbul comes from the North Anatolian Fault, which runs along the floor of the Sea of Marmara, south of the city. The closer a district is to the sea and the weaker the ground beneath it (fill, marshy, sandy), the higher the risk. The farther north, toward the Black Sea, and the harder the bedrock, the lower the risk.

The northern part of the European shore, closer to the Black Sea, stands on bedrock in many places; the city center, Beşiktaş and Beyoğlu, is also on solid rock. In Istanbul, I myself live in Sarıyer, and I'll explain why below.

But remember the main thing: the table tells you about the district, but you are buying a specific building. "Risky" Kadıköy has new buildings built to the 2019 codes that are more reliable than an old building in a "safe" district. That is why we look not just at the district but at everything at once: the year of construction, the project, the soil report and the building inspection documents.

By the way, the city has already been tested in practice. On April 23, 2025, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near Silivri. According to the Minister of Interior, there were no reports of building collapses, and transport was not affected. Urban renewal works: more than a million apartments and premises have already been renewed in Istanbul, and the program continues.

Here I'll be honest and say what I tell Clients at viewings. There are no places in Turkey with absolutely "zero" seismic risk, and Antalya is no exception. But the hazard is distributed very unevenly across the province.

Central Antalya sits on a massive limestone plate, one of the most solid foundations on the coast. According to regional assessments, Alanya is among the calmest areas of the province. That is why most of our properties in Antalya and Alanya are located where a convenient location, good infrastructure and low seismic load come together.

The best thing I can say about safety is to show you where my family lives. I live in Turkey between two cities, roughly equally: half the time in Antalya, half in Istanbul. I chose both places not as a tourist, but as someone who has been studying this market from the inside for many years.

Antalya, Konyaaltı, Liman neighborhood. My apartment is on the first coastline with a sea view. In all the time I've lived there, I have never felt even a slight tremor. Konyaaltı sits on the very limestone plate I wrote about above. In the morning, the waterfront, with the Beydağları mountains opposite; in the evening, a sunset over the sea right from the terrace. For me, this is the best combination of tranquility, nature and city life on the entire coast.

Istanbul, Sarıyer. This is the north of the European side, closer to the Black Sea, and one of the Istanbul districts with the lowest seismic hazard. Sarıyer is several worlds at once. Business-oriented Maslak and the Skyland towers, modern skyscrapers, world-class shopping malls such as İstinye Park and Vadistanbul, and the Bosphorus waterfronts in Yeniköy, Tarabya and İstinye. Nearby is the Belgrad Forest, a huge green expanse where half the city strolls on weekends, and golf courses just a few minutes' drive away. On top of that, logistics are convenient: the city center, the new airport and the business districts are not far.

In recent years, affluent Turkish families have been actively moving to Sarıyer. They choose it for its safety, modernity, beauty and greenery. There is little land for new construction here, so supply is limited, and both property and rent are expensive. For an investor, this is a good sign: when locals with money vote for a district with their lira and are willing to pay for safety, such a property retains its value and sells easily.

I don't recommend these areas to Clients based on other people's reviews. I live there.

Bodrum lies in a seismically active zone, close to the Gulf of Gökova and the Greek islands. There's no point hiding it. But Bodrum has two advantages: a rocky foundation and low-rise development. White two- and three-story houses built on rock behave very differently during tremors than a high-rise on fill soil.

This has been put to the test. On July 21, 2017, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck between Bodrum and the Greek island of Kos. Kos suffered serious damage and two deaths. In Bodrum, not a single building collapsed. About 360 people were injured, but almost all of them were hurt not by collapsing structures but by panic: people jumped out of windows and off balconies in the night. For me, this is the main lesson: in a good building, the most important thing is not to panic.

DASK is mandatory state earthquake insurance. Without a valid policy, you cannot complete a TAPU transaction or connect water and electricity. The policy is inexpensive and must be renewed every year.

The limit is calculated based on floor area (10,714 TL per m² for reinforced concrete buildings) and is regularly indexed. That is why I always advise Clients to also take out standard home insurance (konut sigortası). It's inexpensive and covers what DASK doesn't: costly renovations, furniture, appliances. For an apartment that is rented out, this is especially important.

Here is the checklist the Company works by:

Yes, if you buy the right building. New buildings constructed to the 2019 codes, with building inspection and on good ground, are designed to withstand strong earthquakes. The risk comes mainly from old buildings without a project or inspection.

The risk is lower in districts on rocky ground and farther from the Sea of Marmara: Sarıyer, Beşiktaş, Beyoğlu, Şile, Arnavutköy, Kağıthane, Çekmeköy. But what really matters is the specific building, not just the district.

It's a combination of low seismic hazard, the forest and the Bosphorus, Maslak's modern infrastructure and shopping malls on the level of İstinye Park. Land is scarce, so real estate here is expensive and holds its value well.

Minor tremors do happen, as almost everywhere in Turkey. Central Antalya sits on a solid limestone plate, while Alanya and Gazipaşa are low-risk areas. The western part of the province is more hazardous: Kaş, Demre, Finike.

Yes. Without a DASK policy, you cannot complete a TAPU transaction or connect utilities. A foreign buyer takes out the policy the same way as a Turkish citizen.

A new build completed after 2019, or a building constructed under urban renewal. I only consider resale property older than 2000 with an independent survey.

On the AFAD website: tdth.afad.gov.tr. There you can enter an address and see the estimated hazard level for that specific location.

Over my years in the business, I've made a simple rule for myself: I don't sell a Client a home I wouldn't be willing to live in myself. That is why every property the Company offers undergoes a seismic safety check:

If you have your eye on a specific apartment, send it to us. We will check the documents and tell you honestly whether it's worth buying.

Sergei Dubinets - founder and CEO of DDA Real Estate Turkey, a licensed broker in the Turkish real estate market. He splits his time between two cities: Antalya (Konyaaltı) and Istanbul (Sarıyer). The Company's offices are located in Istanbul and Antalya. ddakey.com