Can part of Palmyra's lost heritage be saved?
A number of different projects are underway to rectify the damage to Palmyra's heritage wrought by the Islamic State.
Parallel rows of marble columns rise across the Syrian desert, interspersed with temples and other impressive buildings. Palmyra was an oasis in the land between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, inhabited even in prehistoric times. After the destruction of the city's ruins by Islamic State, modern technologies are being used to restore the ancient site and its treasures.
According to legend, King Solomon founded Palmyra on the spot. The city changed hands several times, seized by various Eastern and Western empires. The cultural blending in the city made it the true intersection of the Occident and Orient.
Under Roman domination during the first to the third century, Palmyra grew extremely wealthy as a caravan city along the Silk Road. Luxury items and spices from China, India, Persia and the Arabian Peninsula passed through it en route to Rome.
In 270 AD, Zenobia, the overly ambitious queen of Palmyra, seeking to become the empress of the entire East, inevitably clashed with Rome, which crushed her. Although Palmyra remained relatively prominent while a part of the Umayyad caliphate, seated in Damascus, the city's glory began to fade.
