The arch of the Temple of Bel, the only element that withstood the explosive charge used by the Islamic State in 2015. (Credit: Noé Pignède)
On this February morning, Palmyra is silent. An almost unsettling stillness lingers, broken only by the cold wind whistling through the Greco-Roman ruins of the ancient Syrian city. At the entrance of the UNESCO-listed endangered heritage site northeast of Damascus, there are no guards or soldiers from the new security forces. More than a kilometer of finely sculpted columns stretch into the distance.Higher up, behind a thick enclosing wall, a tangle of stones is all that remains of an invaluable relic: the Temple of Bel. In August 2015, the Islamic State group demolished the sanctuary. In seconds, the extremist group erased more than 2,000 years of history. Amid the debris, the arch that once marked the temple’s entrance still stands — resisting, as if the stone itself defied destruction.A black veil fell over Palmyra in May 2015 when...
On this February morning, Palmyra is silent. An almost unsettling stillness lingers, broken only by the cold wind whistling through the Greco-Roman ruins of the ancient Syrian city. At the entrance of the UNESCO-listed endangered heritage site northeast of Damascus, there are no guards or soldiers from the new security forces. More than a kilometer of finely sculpted columns stretch into the distance.Higher up, behind a thick enclosing wall, a tangle of stones is all that remains of an invaluable relic: the Temple of Bel. In August 2015, the Islamic State group demolished the sanctuary. In seconds, the extremist group erased more than 2,000 years of history. Amid the debris, the arch that once marked the temple’s entrance still stands — resisting, as if the stone itself defied destruction.A black veil fell over Palmyra in May 2015...