Photo taken by Emily O'Dell in Damascus
On June 20th, the 37th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to put all six of the Syrian Arab Republic’s World Heritage sites on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger–including the city of Damascus.
A week after this decision, on June 27th, a suicide bombing and several additional attacks occurred near Bab Touma (the Gate of Thomas) in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Damascus–which I am standing in front of below.
Emily O'Dell in front of Bab Touma in Damascus, Syria
The day that I was at Bab Touma, they were preparing for a rock concert by putting speakers on the gate–but today it serves as an armed checkpoint covered in sandbags.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has agreed to establish an emergency fund to fly a team of specialists to Syria to assess damage to Syria’s heritage from the war. However, as someone who is in touch with experts on the ground, I can say that many of the reports on this issue are not completely accurate–and that’s not necessarily a bad thing…but more on that another day…
