9 of 10 World Heritage Sites in Iraq and Syria in Danger
Satellite imagery released by the United Nations on Monday has confirmed that the Islamic State destroyed one of the most important ruins in the ancient city of Palmyra this weekend.
The
destruction of the 1st-century Temple of Bel appears to be part of a
broader campaign by the group against not just Palmyra but a variety of
ancient sites; a campaign that appears to be motivated by both ideology
and greed. Worse still, the Islamic State is only one part of a wider
situation in Syria and Iraq where a number of important historical areas
are considered at risk.
The situation is stark. The United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists
10 world heritage sites in Syria and Iraq. Of that 10, it says nine are
currently in danger -- and not just because of Islamic State vandalism.
You can see images and description of the sites in danger below.
Palmyra
An
aerial view taken on Jan. 13, 2009. shows a part of the ancient city of
Palmyra. Islamic State group jihadists seized Syria's Palmyra on Thursday,
as UNESCO warned that the destruction of the ancient city would be "an
enormous loss to humanity." (AFP Photo/CHRISTOPHE CHARON).
The
ancient city of Palmyra was once one of the most well-known tourism
spots in all of Syria. The site, which predates Islam by hundreds of
years, had become a center for trade by the 1st century A.D. -- its
existence is even recorded in biblical texts. It has been controlled by
the Islamic State since May.
"The art and architecture of Palmyra,
standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, is a symbol of the
complexity and wealth of the Syrian identity and history," the
Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, said in a recent statement,
adding that extremists were seeking to "destroy this diversity and
richness."
Hatra
In
this July 27, 2005, file photo, a temple to the Shamash sun god still
stands over 1,750 years after the Sassanian empire razed the
Mesopotamian city of Hatra, 200 miles north of Baghdad (AP Photo/Antonio
Castaneda, File).
The Iraqi fortress city of Hatra
is believed to date back to days of the Parthian empire in the 3rd or
2nd century B.C., and later became the capital of the first Arab
Kingdom. The city, known for its huge walls, flourished during
Mesopotamian era and bears the influence of both Roman and Persian
empires. Video released in March by the Islamic State showed the group
using sledgehammers and even guns to destroy carvings and statues.
"Praise
to God, who enabled us and the soldiers of Islamic State to remove the
signs of polytheism," one militant says in the video. The destruction in
Hatra came just a few days after attempts by the Islamic State to
bulldoze ruins at the Assyrian city of Nimrud, a site currently on the
tentative list to become a world heritage site.
A
file picture taken on July 17, 2001, shows Iraqi workers cleaning an
archaeological site in Nimrud, 22 miles southeast of the northern city
of Mosul (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images).
Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)
Ashur,
also known as Assur, is city in modern-day Iraq that dates back to the
third millennium and it later became the first capital of the Assyrian
Empire. The city was associated with the god Ashur, and became an
important religious city.
Ashur was first declared in danger by
UNESCO in 2003 due to the planned construction of a dam that would have
flooded its ruins. Due to the city's proximity to Islamic
State-controlled territory, there have been fears that it could face
destruction or vandalism -- in May there were a number of reports that
the city's ancient arches had been blown up by militants.
The ancient city of Aleppo
A
tourist looks at the ruins of the Citadel in the center of the old city
of Aleppo, on Jan. 06, 2011. in northern Syria (Photo by Kaveh
Kazemi/Getty Images).
Located at an important point
along trading routes since the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo has had a
rich history and has the architectural legacy of a variety of different
empires, religions and time periods. The city has a variety of different
buildings of historical importance, including its famous citadel, a
large fortified palace that dates back thousands of years.
Unlike
some other sites on this list, Aleppo remains an inhabited and major
city, and since the Syrian war began in 2012 it has been divided between
rebel forces and government troops. The city became a target for the
Islamic State during the summer. A number of important sites in the city
have been damaged during the fighting -- for example, the famous
minaret at the 11th century A.D. Great Mosque of Aleppo was destroyed in
2013.
The ancient villages of Northern Syria
These
villages, also known as the "Dead Cities," are located in the northwest
of the country and date back to between the 1st and 7th centuries, but
they were all abandoned by the 10th century. Their ruins present a
picture of life in the Antiquity period and the Byzantine period, but
the civil war in Syria has posed a threat to their preservation, with
refugees and fighters taking refuge in the ruins at points.
Samarra archaeological city
In
this Sunday, March 22, 2015, photo, Iraqi security forces descend along
the al-Malwiya minaret at the Al-Mutawakkil Mosque in Samarra, 60 miles
north of Baghdad (AP Photo/Karim Kadim).
The
archaeological city of Samarra in Iraq, once the capital of the Abbasid
Caliphate, is considered an especially important historical site by
UNESCO as it is the "only surviving Islamic capital that retains its
original plan, architecture and arts, such as mosaics and carvings." The
city is well-preserved as it was abandoned relatively early, and only
20 percent of it has been excavated so far.
The modern city of
Samarra became a notable source of tension between Sunnis and Shiites
after the Iraq war. Last year, the city was overtaken by the Islamic
State who came close to a major Shiite shrine in the city, though they
were then pushed back by airstrikes ordered by the Iraqi government.
The Crusader castles
This
photo made on Thursday, May 1, 2014, shows damages at the Crac des
Chevaliers, the world's best preserved medieval Crusader castle, in
Syria (AP Photo/Dusan Vranic).
Crac des Chevaliers
and Qal'at Salah El-Din are two castles in Syria that date back to the
period of the Crusades and represent an important mixture of European
and Near Eastern influences. However, both have been the scene of heavy
fighting: In 2013, rebels said that they had just managed to defeat
regime troops fighting in the walls of the Crac des Chevaliers, though
the Syrian army retook the castle in 2014.
Ancient city of Damascus
People
walk through the entrance of the ancient Hamidiyeh market in the old
city of Damascus on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 (AP Photo/Ola al Rifai).
Damascus
is the capital of Syria and one of the oldest continually inhabited
cities in the world, with some excavations showing the city was
inhabited as early as 8,000 to 10,000 B.C. The city became the capital
of the Umayyad Caliphate and has been important to Arab culture since.
Within the walls of the Old City UNESCO says there are 125 protected
monuments, including the Umayyad mosque, still one of the largest
mosques in the world.
There had been concerns about the Old City
of Damascus due to a population decrease that saw residents move out of
older buildings to newer housing, leading to some abandoned areas.
Fighting in the Syrian capital has also caused serious concern -- when
rebels entered the Old City in 2012, the government shelled it.
Ancient city of Bosra
Rebel
fighters gesture while standing on top of Bosra's ancient citadel in
the historic Syrian southern town of Bosra al-Sham, after they took
control of the area, March 25, 2015 (REUTERS/Wsam Almokdad).
Bosra
was once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia and still features
a 2nd-century Roman theater within the Old City walls. It contains a
number of monuments from the Nabataean, Byzantine and Umayyad periods
too.
The city, however, has been the site of considerable fighting
during the Syrian civil war, putting many of the Old City at risk.
There have been reports of shellings and bombings in the city and online
videos have appeared to show snipers using the theater to shoot from.
Relics from the site have been looted since at least 2012.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
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