A 1509 earthquake was so terrifying that survivors called it the Minor Judgement Day
A massive earthquake in 1509 shattered the city of Constantinople with such violence that the Ottoman people believed the world was ending, leading them to name the disaster the 'Minor Judgement Day'.
The Sea of Marmara unleashed a devastating earthquake in 1509 that leveled over a thousand homes and 109 mosques in Constantinople. The tremors were so powerful they triggered a tsunami that surged over the city walls, claiming thousands of lives. Sultan Bayezid II was so shaken that he spent ten days sleeping in a tent in the palace gardens to avoid being crushed by falling stone.
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