Palmyra.. Destroyed…??

Palmyra…

Jewel…of…

The… desert…

Is about… to be destroyed…?

Vanish… dissapear…

Turn into rubble…?

Barbaric… unthinkable…

Surreal… a nightmare…

Palmyra… the ancient Semitic city… is located in Homs governorate, Syria… situated north-east of Damascus…

It boasts a unique combination of Roman and Middle-Eastern multi-cultural heritage…

The magnificent Roman theater and the ruins of Palmyra are now in the hands of the invaders… who could destroy this birthplace of civilization… which will no doubt be a huge loss to humanity…

We should… be afraid… very afraid…

How could this… come to pass…?

In centuries past… this city… the “Venice of the East”… served as a pivotal crossing point in the Syrian desert… between the great river Euphrates and the Mediterranean…

A shimmering oasis… making it a “vital watering hole for caravans of trade”…

Palmyra… became very affluent indeed…

The Romans took over the city under the Emperor Tiberius in the 1st century AD.  It soon became a global international market place.

They also ruled wisely by being tolerant to the various peoples… Romans… Jews… Greeks… as well as languages spoken… Aramaic and later Arabic.

The main site of those ancient ruins is of Corinthian columns… which were based on those in Rome but were derived from ancient Greece… alongside the eastern heritage and culture…

The most splendid is that of the Temple of Baal…. a Semitic god…

This astonishing temple was built under Roman rule in 32 AD… with its Greco-Roman Corinthian columns alongside the carvings of camels… Arabian women… and shrines…

Palmyra in 129 AD… was treasured by many Roman Emperors… in fact… the Emperor Hadrien called it “Hadriane Palmyra”…

Miraculously… this ancient city survived two millenea… despite numerous upheavels of conquering regimes…

The golden city… of the Middle East…

Roman ruins stand gracefully… in the desert…

Eloquent… magical…

Incomparable vision… of beauty…

Palmyra…

Cannot… should not…

Be… destroyed…

The world… must halt…

The… carnage…

Stop… that dagger…

Piercing…

The… very heart…

Of… Palmyra…

The… very soul…

Of…

Humanity…

a.