SAMANDAG, Turkey (Reuters) -Habip Yapar felt lucky that his home in southern Turkey withstood last year's devastating earthquake. Then a text message appeared on his phone in October telling him the government was taking ownership of the apartment.
The message sent to Yapar, 61, declared that the deeds for his property in Hatay province were being transferred to the Treasury under an amendment to an urban planning law set to affect thousands of earthquake survivors.
