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 later–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 I was at Bab Touma, a number of people were prepping for a rock concert by putting speakers all over the gate–but sadly, today, the gate 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 any damage to Syria’s heritage from the war. But a number of archaeologists–both near and far–can’t help but wonder: is this increased attention on Syria’s heritage a noble attempt to rescue antiquities, or just a convenient pretext for war (see Mali and Afghanistan)?
