In early May through to early July 2024, my son William and I are cycling 6000km across Europe, from Paphos, Cyprus, back to the UK.

We will be cycling through Turkey, our route skirting the edge of the area devastated by the earthquakes of early 2023, so we would like to use our ride to raise money for the continuing recovery of those impacted by this disaster.

Please encourage us on our journey with a donation to fund the work of Christian Aid in the earthquake zone.

The Earthquake

On 6th February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake with epicentre just north of the Turkish-Syrian border, brought devastation to an area the size of Germany. A second quake of 7.7 magnitude was recorded later the same day, with 30,000 aftershocks over the following three months. Only Turkey's North Anatolia earthquake, all the way back in 1668, was stronger. 14 million people in Turkey were impacted, 1.5 million of whom were left homeless, with 53,537 losing their lives. The Syrian death toll added over 6,000 to that number in an area already reeling from war.

There was huge immediate support provided by the international community and many charitable organisations. But a year on, the disaster has fallen out of the news and somewhat out of of our collective minds, despite an enormous amount of healing and rebuilding of lives still remaining to be done. Christian Aid estimates some two million people still need help, having lost their homes and suffered through severe flooding and winter conditions. A violent storm recently destroyed more than 1,000 tents and damaged 2,300 others in the countryside around Idlib and Aleppo. Sewage mingling with floodwater is posing a significant risk of disease as well as a serious environmental threat to wells and crops.

The Journey

Our inspiration for the journey came initially from a former Bishop of Ramsbury, Edward Condry, who cycled the 'Via Francigena' from Canterbury to Rome a few years ago. This route follows the documented journey made by another former Bishop of Ramsbury, Sigeric, who visited Rome after his promotion to Archbishop in 990AD.

We saw that the 'Via Francigena' actually extends south towards the heel of Italy, the start of a longer route which historically took pilgrims, via the port of Durres in Albania, to and from The Holy Land. Noticing place names, in Greece and Turkey, familiar from the New Testament's 'Acts of the Apostles', we decided to hang our extended route on St Paul's missionary journeys. On his first journey, Paul's first stop was Cyprus, which we chose to be the start point for our own journey, back to Canterbury.

The Charity

I have selected the charity Christian Aid, part of the Disasters Emergency Committee group (DEC), because their Turkey-Syria Earthquake campaign continues to be active, working alongside local partners in the impacted areas. Over the course of 2023, the focus of Christian Aid's work there shifted to building community resilience, including creating women's centres to educate, teach new skills, and provide economic support (e.g. grants to re-establish small businesses). More recently they have turned their attention to child protection, creating safe spaces for (so far) 4000 children, helping them work through the devastating scenes they witnessed, regain their childhood, and get them back to school.