Earthquake Damage

It is now 25 years since a devastating earthquake killed 50,000 people, displaced many times more, and ruined the city of Gyumri and neighbouring towns and villages. The population is growing, but oh so slowly. And still, in some areas of the cities, many buildings lie in disrepair. Some are shells, with walls and ceilings that somehow have managed to hang on all these years, despite their precarious angles. The building pictured was ruined and collapsed at both ends, exposing the dwellings there. You can see the elaborate wall decorations, perhaps from dining or sitting rooms. Yet the centre part of the building is still used and lived in. The doorways from these exposed rooms are boarded up, yet the next rooms are occupied, lights and furniture indicating the spaces which are inhabited. The other end told a similar story.