Van, a city in Eastern Anatolian Turkey, was hit by two earthquakes with magnitudes of <i>M</i>_w = 7.2 and <i>M</i>_w = 5.6 in October and November 2011. Both earthquakes caused extensive damage to many buildings. Unreinforced masonry buildings, especially in rural areas, suffered from those earthquakes extensively as in many other cases observed in Turkey during other previous earthquakes. This paper presents a site survey of damaged masonry buildings. Reasons for the wide spread damages are discussed in the paper

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It is of great importance that the architectural and engineering disciplines work together in the restoration studies of historical buildings which are our cultural heritages. It is required that the bearing system and the materials of the structures should be investigated in detail prior to any conservation. The determination of the properties and compositions of the mortar material used in the construction of the historical building is one of the most important phases of the conservation studies and it is the main purpose of this study. In the scope of the study, the basic physical and mechanical properties, micro structures, raw material compositions, mineralogical and chemical properties of historical mortars taken from Kizil Khan, Karapasah Madrasah and Yelli Mosque structures in Becin antique city are determined. As a result of the study, it is determined that all mortar samples have hydraulic properties that is a result of hydraulic properties of binder lime.