Photo of entrance to the Temple of Bel taken during our April 2011 trip to Palmyra, Syria
It is with great sadness and extreme bewilderment that I learned today the extent in which ISIS continues to dismantle Syria’s cultural treasures. I have been reading the latest attempt in Palmyra to destroy the Temple of Bel–this after the destruction of the Temple of Baalshamin about a week ago. Bel is one of the most important cultural sites in all of Syria—in fact, one of the finest archaeological structures in the world. This destruction hits me even harder because I remember walking through both temples during my visit to Palmyra in April 2011.
I can’t begin to fathom the motives for this destruction and am utterly confused that nobody can seem to stop ISIS from continuing this rampage. When we left Syria in April 2011, it was apparent that Syria was in the beginning stages of The Arab Spring uprisings, but I could not have predicted that things would spiral this far out of control. It boggles the mind that Syria’s military and/or other moderate rebel forces in the area can’t deal with the ISIS issue.
I try to put these types of things into the perspective of the ever-changing nature of history—believing that this is just another phase in the history of humankind and that nothing lasts an eternity. Still it pains me to think that these treasures are gone forever and makes me extremely grateful that I had an opportunity to experience them in person.
Still, there are much more important things in the entire scope of the current regional problems. The people of Syria and many other Middle Eastern areas are experiencing a level of upheaval, suffering and uncertainty that I will never comprehend and my heart and hopes for a better future go out to them.
It’s sad to realize that it takes news of this type to bring Syria’s plight back into the forefront…particularly when you begin to recognize that the emotional and physical impact to the people, as a result of the last four tumultuous years, is exponentially worse than the tearing down of historical structures.
Some photos from our April 2011 trip:
