Syria’s ancient oasis city of Palmyra threatened in fighting

Daily Star (Lebanon) ^ | April 04, 2013 | Oliver Holmes

[SunkenCiv]

The millenia-old oasis city of Palmyra is being damaged in clashes between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and rebels fighting for his overthrow in the midst of the precious archaeological site, a resident said Wednesday.

Shaky amateur footage filmed by the resident shows the facade of the first century Temple of Baal with a large circle where a mortar bomb has blasted the sandstone. The columns of the great colonnade that extends from the temple have been chipped by shrapnel...

Hiding in the palm groves behind the ruins, the militants creep toward the ancient site, once a vital stopping point for caravans crossing the Syrian desert carrying spices, silks and perfumes, and the modern town of Tadmur behind it.

The government responds with mortar bombs, artillery shells and rockets...

Soldiers camp out in the luxury hotels once popular with tourists. The army has also entered the Roman theater and positioned snipers behind its stone walls...

Large swathes of Syria have fallen into rebel hands but the government has managed to retain control of Palmyra.

Maamoun Abdel-Karim, director of antiquities and museums at the Ministry of Culture, told Reuters that the interior of the temple was not damaged in the mortar attack, which caused “as much damage as a fire.”

Clashes in the palm groves behind the temple and stray bullets could hit the columns and exterior of the ruins, he said by telephone from Damascus. But he said the Palmyra site was largely safe.

“Matters are under control and as for damage to archaeological sites, there is nothing,” he said...

[SunkenCiv]

The sun sets behind ruined columns at the historical city of Palmyra in this Nov. 12, 2010, photo.

[SunkenCiv]

Syria conflict: warplanes ‘strike Damascus’ - as it happened
Video shows damage to 1st century Temple of Bel
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2013/apr/03/syria-conflict-warplanes-strike-damascus-live-updates

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[bigheadfred]

“Matters are under control and as for damage to archaeological sites, there is nothing,” he said..."unless the extremists win. Then we can expect they will destroy everything."

[SunkenCiv]

They’ll be too busy killing one another and settling old scores using false accusations. It’ll be fun to watch.

[bigheadfred]

It has been so far.

[Paladin2]

Rock tends to endure.

Build your stuff outta rock.

[bert]

Richard Haliburton Trivia quiz...... who was queen of Palmyra?

[Young Werther]

Ze nobia U nu of. in English

[bert]

for you

[Bellflower]

Interesting, we have a Palmyra in Wis not too far from here, and yesterday I was wondering where it’s name came from, and if the name was Biblical.

[SunkenCiv]

The name’s Middle Eastern,

There’s a Palmyra in Michigan as well, hmm, somewhere in the Thumb I think. I’m sure they were both named after Palmyra in Syria, but indirectly, because the name had been used for a village (and a “town”, which is NYish for “township”) in New York.

The ancient name was Tadmor, Aramaic for “palm tree” (it sez here).

http://www.formerthings.com/tadmor.htm

[SunkenCiv]

Elvira was the Mistress of the Night, that’s all I remember. ;’)

[SunkenCiv]

Definitely.

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[Bellflower]

Thanks for the info and the site!