MILES PARKS, HOST:
Syria has some of the most important archaeological sites in the Middle East. They include the ancient Roman city of Palmyra, badly damaged over years of civil war and ISIS occupation but once again accessible after the fall of the regime. NPR's Jane Arraf traveled there to see what's left. And a warning to listeners, this includes the sound of gunfire.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: You can hear militia gunfire in the distance in these deserted ruins of Palmyra. Once on the Silk Road between Asia and Europe, the city is one of Syria's most important archaeological sites. In the last decade, it became a battle ground, damaged by the militant group ISIS and by Syrian regime and Russian forces who fought them.
MAHMOUD BOTMAN: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: Mahmoud Botman, a fighter with a militia that has controlled Palmyra along with government forces since the fall of the Syrian regime, shows us the damage.
BOTMAN: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: The spot where we are standing was the Baalshamin Temple, 2,000-years-old, dedicated to a god of the sky and one of the most prominent features of the Roman city. Isis considered Palmyra's pre-Islamic civilization blasphemous. It beheaded Palmyra's chief archaeologist, Khaled al-Asaad, and then the group methodically blew up parts of the city. Botman shows us a video taken before Isis arrived, the Baalshamin Temple towering over the site.
BOTMAN: (Non-English language spoken) before.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Before.
ARRAF: Oh, gosh. Before it was almost completely intact. It was a big square building with intact pillars, and now it's just giant blocks lying on top of each other.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
ARRAF: Palmyra is listed by the U.N. Cultural Organization as a world heritage site. At its height, ruled by the powerful Queen Zenobia, two hundred thousand people lived here.
You can imagine how this was just a huge, thriving city at one point. I mean, the scale of it - this was one of the centers of the Silk Road. There would have been caravans coming from east and west. And you still get that sense of grandeur. But with everything that's been destroyed here, you get more of a sense of what's been lost.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
ARRAF: In 2016, Syrian regime forces backed by Iranian militias and Russian troops took back Palmyra and damaged more of it in the process, according to Syrian antiquities officials.
(SOUNDBITE OF DEBRIS FALLING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Is it a helmet?
ARRAF: We walk through a Russian military base built near the ruins.
The ground is covered with what looked like burnt documents, all blackened. There are some books in Russian that are partially burned, that are lying here soaked in water. Looks like there's pieces of computer equipment and what looks like an artillery shell.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROCKS TUMBLING)
ARRAF: Nearby on one of the colonnaded streets, young volunteers are rolling stone blocks to prevent cars from driving into the ruins. There's been immense looting of archaeological sites in Syria.
MOHAMMAD SHAKER: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: "We have to take care of even the small pieces," says Mohammad Shaker from the Palmyra Youth Gathering. Bringing tourists back will take a lot of work.
(SOUNDBITE OF GLASS CRACKING)
ARRAF: At the century-old Zenobia Hotel where writer Agatha Christie stayed, the ground is covered in shattered glass. There are bullet holes in the walls. A waterlogged drinks menu is a remnant of the hotel's happier days.
(SOUNDBITE OF HORN HONKING)
ARRAF: Inside the modern city, almost every building has been damaged during the 13 years of civil war and ISIS rule.
ZAIN SAGHEER: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: A 14-year-old volunteer, Zain Sagheer, tells us they've been cleaning debris and painting sidewalks to prepare for visitors again. The city changed hands twice between ISIS and the Syrian regime from 2015 to 2017. Ninety percent of the population here was displaced, many of them to camps. There are signs of life returning - a bit of construction, vegetable stalls in the streets - but few people have the money to rebuild. There are no emergency services here and hardly any electricity.
SHAKER: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: Shaker, who's 24, says they will restore the ancient city and rebuild the modern one.
SHAKER: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: "But the young people, the children lost - that is the most devastating destruction," he says. "That, we cannot change."
Jane Arraf, NPR News, Palmyra, Syria.
(SOUNDBITE OF TIM MCNARY SONG, "DAY AT THE FALLS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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