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| Exterior, Krak des Chevaliers |
The deaths of 20,000 Syrian people in the last 17 months is a travesty and horror.
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| Inside the wall, Krak des Chevaliers |
Collateral damage in this on-going conflict has spread to historic sites and world treasures. A student published an
article in the Wall Street Journal on 20 August listing places in Syria that have suffered damage, some perhaps irreversible. Photos of many of these sites have been posted on this blog. The photos here of the world treasures mentioned in the article were taken on a trip to Syria n May-June 2010. Most of these places are
UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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| Chapel, KdC |
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I do not have photos of all the sites described. The first place mentioned in the article is the crusader fortress, Krak des Chevaliers, near
Homs, the center of early assaults by the Assad regime.
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| Temple of Bel, Palmyra |
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| Beginning of the Valley of the Tombs |
Next on the list is
Palmyra in the eastern desert oasis of Syria.
Three places mentioned are the Temple of Bel, the colonnaded avenue, and
the Valley of the Tombs.
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| Colonnaded Avenue, Palmyra |
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| Apamea |
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| Apamea |
The Roman city of
Apamea, near Hama, has also suffered damage and the wholesale looting of the incredible mosaics lovingly repaired and kept for safe keeping for decades.
Hama suffered bombing by Assad's father in 1982 when tens of thousands of citizens were killed and the Old City destroyed. It was also brutally shelled in the current fighting.
