Foto

News mentioning Palmyra these days reminded me of wonderful time I had in that special place so I browsed my photos and decided to upload this one… Somehow, camel and his owner leaving the scene seem appropriate for this moment in time…

In the distance, on the left side of the photo, you can see Fakhr-al-Din al-Ma’ani Castle (known also as Palmyra Castle) from 13th century that provide great view of the complete archaeological site and its surroundings.

On the right side of the picture is Tetrapylon (four gates in Greek) – it is situated in the middle of the Great Colonnade (over kilometre long main street). It consists of a square platform bearing at each corner a tight grouping of four columns. Each of the four groups of pillars supports 150,000kg of solid cornice.

Site of Palmira is national monument in Syria and in 1980 became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, since 2013 it’s on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. It seems that some illegal excavations - particulary in the tombs - are happening there since the begining of the war. I pray that Palmyra survive this, yet another challenging period in its turbulent history for the future generations to admire its stories and beauty…