www.ismali.net
When a foreign family took over the little convenience store at the top of our hill, I knew nothing about Syria. Each day, my neighbor and I walked uphill to buy our husband's newspapers. We gradually got to know the gentle family and met each child as she was born. I don't venture that far now, and our daily exercise, laughs and talks have ceased.
Since 2011, the news about thousands killed and millions made homeless in Syria's civil war has saddened me. Now, more than 50,000 people have been killed, thousands more injured, imprisoned and tortured. Having personal contact with someone from that country makes the fighting and suffering in Syria all the more relevant to me. But the violence has also caused irreparable damage to some of the world's most precious historical sites.
The destruction of ancient treasures should concern everyone around the world.
Since 2011, the news about thousands killed and millions made homeless in Syria's civil war has saddened me. Now, more than 50,000 people have been killed, thousands more injured, imprisoned and tortured. Having personal contact with someone from that country makes the fighting and suffering in Syria all the more relevant to me. But the violence has also caused irreparable damage to some of the world's most precious historical sites.
The destruction of ancient treasures should concern everyone around the world.
ngm.nationalgeographic.com
Syria is where civilization began. In the surrounding area, humans first developed large scale farming and started living in complex cities. The Phoenicians were a merchant people based on the coast of modern Lebanon and Syria who sailed the length of the Mediterranean to trade. They developed a system of writing in which individual sounds were represented by symbols. This first alphabet allowed them to note down and record the details of their trading. See the BBC News item here.
www.123rf.com
At the heart of human history, Syria sits astride the great artery of trade, the Silk Route, which links East with West. Spices, fabrics, gold, and ivory passed through the cities of Syria before either going east to Central Asia and China, or heading west, to the Mediterranean basin and beyond. Conquerors followed the merchants. The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans, Islamic Caliphs, Mongols, Ottomans, French and British have left their mark on this important region.
Now, vicious fighting has wiped out part of Central Aleppo, a stunningly preserved medieval settlement, probably the finest example of its kind in the world. Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities on the planet.
Now, vicious fighting has wiped out part of Central Aleppo, a stunningly preserved medieval settlement, probably the finest example of its kind in the world. Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities on the planet.
The heritage casualty list is deeply alarming. Syria has several Unesco World Heritage sites. Alongside Aleppo, are the old cities of Damascus and Bosra, the Crusader castles, the Roman site of Palmyra and the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. Fighting has affected every site. Crac des Chevaliers, one of the world's finest castles, has been shelled by artillery as the Syrian army attempts to dislodge rebel snipers. Looting of ancient heirlooms is rife. Treasures have been smuggled out through several weak borders and sold.
Heritage binds communities together. Like the heirlooms, photos and stories in a family home, it forms the base of shared memory. When the fighting ceases, the people will have to gather together what they have left and start again. And we will all be poorer with part of our earliest civilization destroyed.
Heritage binds communities together. Like the heirlooms, photos and stories in a family home, it forms the base of shared memory. When the fighting ceases, the people will have to gather together what they have left and start again. And we will all be poorer with part of our earliest civilization destroyed.
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