The restoration of Syria’s famous Roman ruins at Palmyra and other historical sites destroyed by the war has been delayed

PALMYRA, Syria (AP) — At the height of the Islamic State’s rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as militants blew up an iconic arch and temple at the country’s famous Roman ruins in Palmyra.

Eight years later, the Islamic State has lost control, but restoration work at the site has been held up by security issues, remnants of ISIS landmines, and a lack of funding.

Other archaeological sites across Syria face similar problems, both in government- and opposition-held areas. It has been damaged by war or, more recently, by the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck a wide swath of neighboring Turkey as well as Syria in February.

Youssef Kanjo, former director of the Syrian National Museum of Aleppo, said the situation of heritage sites in his country was a “catastrophe”.

Without coordinated conservation and restoration efforts, “we will lose what was not destroyed by war or earthquake,” said Kanju, now a researcher at the University of Tübingen in Germany.

Before the war, Palmyra—a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Syria—was the country’s archaeological crown jewel, a tourist attraction that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year. The ancient city was the capital of an Arab vassal of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and established its own kingdom in the third century, led by Queen Zenobia.

Recently, the area has had darker links. It was home to Palmyra prison, where thousands of opponents of the Assad family’s rule in Syria were reportedly tortured. ISIS demolished the prison after it took over the city.

The militants later destroyed the historic Palmyra temples of Bel, Baal Shamin and the Triumphal Arch, considering them relics of idolatry, and beheaded a senior archaeologist who devoted his life to supervising the ruins.

Today, Syrian army roadblocks dot the road across the desert from Homs to Palmyra. In the town next to the old site, some shops have reopened, but signs of war remain in the form of charred carriages, shops, and burnt or covered houses.

The Palmyra Museum is closed, and the beloved lion statue that used to stand in front of it was taken to Damascus for restoration and preservation.

However, Syrian and foreign tourists are starting to return.

“We thought it was impossible for foreigners to return to Palmyra,” said Qais Fathallah, who ran a hotel there but fled to Homs when Islamic State took control. Now he’s back in Palmyra, where he runs a restaurant, where he said he regularly serves tourists.

On a recent day, a group of tourists from countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and China, and another group, with Syrian university students, were wandering through the ruins.

Some Syrian tourists visited on better days. For communications engineering student Fares Mardini, it was the first time.

“Now I finally came, and I saw so much destruction. It was really upsetting,” he said. “I hope it will be restored and go back to the way it was.”

In 2019, international experts invited by UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, said detailed studies were needed before major restorations could begin.

Yomna Tabet, program specialist in the Arab States Unit at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, said restoration work often involves difficult choices, especially if there are not enough original materials to rebuild.

“Is it worth reconstructing it with as little credibility as possible or should we focus on getting 3D documentation of how?” She said.

Missions to the site were initially delayed due to security issues, including landmines that had to be removed. ISIS cells still launch attacks in the region from time to time.

Money is also a problem.

“There is a huge lack of funding so far for all sites in Syria,” Tabet said, noting that international donors warn against breaching sanctions against Syria imposed by the United States, the European Union and others.

US sanctions exclude activities related to the preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites, but hurdles remain associated with the sanctions, such as a ban on the export of US-made goods to Syria.

Russia, an ally of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has begun restoring the Triumphal Arch in Palmyra, the largest project yet undertaken at the site.

“We have some funding from some friends in some places, but it is not enough in relation to the disaster that happened,” said Muhammad Nazir Awad, director general of the Syrian Department of Antiquities and Museums.

It doesn’t have to be this way, said Mamoun Abd al-Karim, who was heading the Department of Antiquities at the time of the Islamic State incursion. Abdul Karim pointed to international efforts to restore damaged heritage sites in the city of Mosul in neighboring Iraq, which has also been controlled by militants for some time, as an example of a successful restoration process.

“We need to separate political affairs from cultural heritage affairs,” said Abdul Karim, who is now a professor at the University of Sharjah. He warned that the damaged buildings are at risk of further deterioration or collapse due to the delay in rehabilitation work.

The deadly Feb. 6 earthquake caused further destruction in some sites already damaged by the war. This includes the old city of Aleppo, which is under government control, and the Church of Saint Simeon in the countryside of Aleppo from the Byzantine era, in an area controlled by Turkish-backed opposition forces.

About a fifth of the church was damaged in the earthquake, including the basilica arch, said Hassan Ismail, a researcher with the nongovernmental organization Syrians for Heritage. He said the earthquake doubled previous damage caused by bombings and vandalism.

The group tried to stabilize the structure with wooden and metal supports and to preserve the stones that fell from it for later use in restoration.

Ayman al-Nabo, head of the Antiquities Authority in the opposition-held city of Idlib, appealed for international assistance in stabilizing and restoring earthquake-damaged sites.

He said the effects should be viewed as “neutral to political reality”. “This is a global human heritage that belongs to the whole world, not just the Syrians.”

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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press correspondents Omar Sanadqi in Palmyra, Syria, and Omar al-Bam in Deir Semaan, Syria, contributed to this report.

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