https://www.bartbrownell.com/ 2022-04-22 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ec6552a16df2722f075c8a06dba4a2a8_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://www.bartbrownell.com/syria-1996 2022-02-12 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ac75f9f37f3512b7a2b23e20f2b18c92_hd.jpg My route included: Damascus - Palmyra - Deir ez-Zor - Halabiye - Resafa - Aleppo - St. Simeon - The Dead Cities - Apamea -Crusader Castles - Damascus https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/66a697a2c56cf25897aee76d81f52796_hd.jpg The Orient Palace Hotel opened its doors in 1932 during the French Mandate. It stands opposite the railway station and next to the entrance to the Old City. There were fancier hotels but this one had the right atmosphere. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/88ab0d7cffb6f702cecb704ec905d842_hd.jpg This is the view from my hotel room of the now defunct railway station opened in 1913. From this station, "Allah's Gate," the Hejaz railway, completed in 1908, ran from Damascus to Medina. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/02455c1237120fcd418b0ca153e3c860_hd.jpg An engine like this once pulled carriages filled with pilgrims, and later Turkish troops to help quell the WWI revolt in Arabia. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9bacb8512ff0e1dea62dbb99899cc9a9_hd.jpg The 800-mile Hejaz railway was abandoned in 1920 after sabotage by Lawrence of Arabia and his Bedouin allies. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/235e7c42d3a40a20f9e2c2e229d4123e_hd.jpg In the last years of Hafez al-Assad 30- year rule the cult of personality was in full swing. His picture appeared in every shop and public square. He died in 2000 and was succeeded by his son, Bashar. The ruling Baath Party, founded in 1947, espoused a modernizing pan-Arab ideal that was secular and socialist based on one-party rule. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b3f28e8b60a396c44edc48654124b61c_hd.jpg The late 13th C. citadel along the wall of the old city by the entrance to the Souq. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/024c5fe21540d7619ffd9883af5db04c_hd.jpg Narrow street in one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The old city is surrounded by a three-mile mostly Roman wall enclosing 215 acres of houses, souks, mosques, churches and two remaining synagogues. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d2158c3291130431302eaa50f37c7210_hd.jpg 19th C. Al-Hamidiyah covered souq which terminates at what remains of the Roman triumphal arch marking the outer entrance to the 1st C. A.D. Temple of Jupiter. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e14fe4ab057a5792b908d80ce845e65f_hd.jpg A strolling tea seller in the Souq. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/a357e966b64b52bc129e55d2d3537bf9_hd.jpg Rare Jewish antique dealer long established in the Souq. Most of the once flourishing Jewish community have left Syria due to Syrian hostility to Israel and loss of the Golan Heights in 1967. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3ee85c6c7e117d724a9d252f40f56f68_hd.jpg Ingredients used in potions and cures for sale in the Souq. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f690fd7479da9036099caa8b6e881032_hd.jpg Men smoking hookahs at a sidewalk cafe near the Great Mosque. Many women in Damascus, including government workers wore western dress. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6a9b4efc1530d24d647ae76287ee09f2_hd.jpg The Azem Palace, residence of the Ottoman governor of Damascus. Built in 1749. In the aughts many of these palaces attracted wealthy arabs from the Gulf and Saudi Arabia who restored much of their faded glory. The Old City has so far survived the war much neglected but relatively unscathed. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e47420460946f38459c2b00c742e953c_hd.jpg Before cell phones having your picture taken was still a novelty. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b499adf80b6f150cf2c2cb0887300c46_hd.jpg Fragment of the monumental entrance of the Roman Temple of Jupiter at the edge of the covered Souq. End of the 2nd C. A.D. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/34ff99af773875ebf8c7c1c11635ca11_hd.jpg The Umayyad Mosque. Before being rebuilt as a mosque, this was a Christian cathedral dedicated to John the Baptist. Before that, it was a Roman temple dedicated to the cult of Jupiter. All were built on the site of what was once the most important temple in Syria dedicated to Semitic god of rain, Haddad. (Image courtesy Bernard Gagnon 2010.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6a049c9a804ec61f076a65afbcfee7a6_hd.jpg Roman wall enclosing the huge interior courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/7517f52867241462db579f79b47be06d_hd.jpg Blocked up pagan and Christian entrance in the Roman perimeter wall. Inscription over the door translates as "Your kingdom, Christ, is the kingdom of all eons and your rule is in all generations." https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ee810891d2a706490cca57099dccf6d1_hd.jpg This is the approach to the Mosque entrance, past Roman remains. The same fruit seller is in the next slide. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/a42622a8074dffcd00b59412a306063f_hd.jpg Main entrance to the Umayaad Mosque courtyard, flanked by bronze doors. This mosque is the fourth holiest site in Islam after Mecca, Medina and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1195dc33fd9c16c37ddc14f3dc712493_hd.jpg Guardian at the main Mosque entrance. Ladies are encouraged to borrow a black robe to cover western dress, but otherwise all are welcome to visit. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1dd08daec40d6d58133e5b5dd56648ef_hd.jpg Visitors from all over the Muslim world are drawn to this famous site. Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate which extended the Arab Conquest across North Africa and into Spain. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f8fb6533cd3de84def0907997fdaea30_hd.jpg The Mosque is a major Shi'ite place of pilgrimage as Mohammed's martyred grandson is meant to be buried here. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5d03af0840d2bc22eccc3463ae7c9baa_hd.jpg Bedouin women arrive to look up in wonder at the gleaming mosaics of the Transept of the Mosque. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/52b3e12303aac95090238288990d4be2_hd.jpg View through the entrance - at the mosaic decoration of the transept bisecting the prayer hall which runs along the whole of one side of the enclosure. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9eb8bb2357439de85ff076c68ceb5a3a_hd.jpg The Mosque transept across the marble courtyard surrounded by a two-story arcade.against walls dating back almost 2,000 years. The melodious call to prayer echoes over the city from one of these minarets five times a day. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dd6a12ec49f6ee86897736efd5bfd0ee_hd.jpg The Mosque as it appeared in 1862 after years of neglect. Sacred places of worship have existed on this site since the 2nd millenium BC. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4ca8d008cef61df19eba3dd1b0c86d8e_hd.jpg The fire of 1893 destroyed most of the old prayer hall. The Mosque has been added to and repaired numerous times with a history of invasions, Mongol sackings and earthquakes. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dbfaa708aa3d8c4f939212d1c2f893b2_hd.jpg The Treasury is on the left. The 13th C. Minaret of Jesus is in the background. In Islam Jesus is the second most important prophet after Muhammad. Islamic teaching holds that Jesus will descend to this Mosque in the end times and together with the Madhi unite the world in peace. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dd7c54f47bff2805ba1a405a7ec351ef_hd.jpg When the followers of Muhammad seized Damascus in 636 they left the Christian cathedral in place for the first 70 years of their rule. When they did repurpose this space they employed much of the language of classical and Byzantine architecture. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f53a986515e3b65302572621128a1ef1_hd.jpg The Mosque's treasury raised on Roman Corinthian columns for security. The mosaics are thought to be 13th or 14th C. restorations. Most of the enormous volume of mosaics that once covered all the walls and arches have been lost, https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/335792f04ca40975168a7a96b1f4e2bc_hd.jpg Decorative lantern holder in the courtyard. The Mosque's mosaics have been many times restored over the centuries. The technique of mosaic is Greco-Roman and the artisans for this huge project are thought to have been imported from around the Byzantine world. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/01e338a04360e2a073ebfb1ac2c743e0_hd.jpg For generations of desert dwellers these mosaics fixed in two dimensions the Koranic vision of Paradise: " Such is the paradise promised to the righteous, streams run through it, its fruits never fail, it never lacks shade." https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e4189df538c4e32bc7f7f2c918c8a273_hd.jpg The gilded underside of the dome at the center of the prayer hall. The hall includes an elaborate shrine believed to contain the head of John the Baptist, sent here by Herod. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c9aecb6e7819e8d7acbabae6f97ba4d1_hd.jpg The interior of the prayer hall - surprisingly relaxed, with a family picnicking in one corner, birds flying by, a solitary figure in prayer in another corner. No chairs, carpets everywhere for strolling, sitting, or kneeling. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b0a56065ce4412d8eb2fb565c2117eda_hd.jpg Sheep along the good two-lane highway running from Damascus east to the Euphrates. . It is a 3 1/2 hour drive to Palmyra and another 2 hours to Deir ez-Zor. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0aa77e67535634cdf8b18008ae4d4eca_hd.jpg Bedouin sheep herders tending their flock by the highway heading east to Deir ez-Zor. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b1495318881ce103ea845c2feb5ba3b4_hd.jpg A cafe in Deir ez-Zor. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d89875476647720267a0a0f7997ae4f1_hd.jpg The meat market in Deir ez-Zor. Sheeps' heads lie on the pavement in the foreground. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/08969d553c591a679e4b8e9a680cb056_hd.jpg Halabiye guards a narrow passage in the Euphrates and is thought to date to the Assyrian Empire of 1,000 BC. Re-fortified by the Palmyrene Queen Zenobia, and then Rome, this garrison town became part of their defensive line with Persia. Massive gypsum walls up to 50' high enclose 30 acres topped by a citadel. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f077d468187fa2f471d35bf5bb883c06_hd.jpg Looking toward the Euphrates from the Citadel. Towers along the wall are connected by covered passageways. Much of the remains on view today including two churches date from the time of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5536cf5e6294d74e9fdc68eb10f17a81_hd.jpg The 3-story Praetorium built by Justinian to house garrison troops in the mid-6th C The town was largely abandoned by the 7th C.. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/150744d4bce6dec2b6924b5edf07a4c2_hd.jpg One hour into the desert west of the Euphrates stands the deserted Byzantine town of Resafa. Originally an Assyrian encampment, it stood on the caravan route to Palmyra. Fortified by Rome as part of its defensive line, it became an important pilgrimage destination after the martyrdom here of a Roman soldier in the early 4th C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6ca296f8b73552993f376a39e891275a_hd.jpg The town's walls are still largely intact although more recently damaged by ISIS. This elaborate North Gate dates from Justinian's extensive building program. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/28120ef29aa367ba3d89aa87f82f019e_hd.jpg The view from the perimeter wall enclosing 37 acres. The pockmarked ground is the result of blowing sand and excavations. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8037d04052e74cbc9aea39d862ab9e9e_hd.jpg I had planned to spend the night in the ruins. These school teachers, the only other people I saw, pointed to my tent and encouraged me to stay at their school. Asked why not stay in Resafa, they warned me to look out for desert dogs. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0db48c331ca8fc6281c89131040a68a0_hd.jpg My tent in the Basilica of St Sergius. After strolling alone in the still ruins as night fell, I tried to sleep - while imagining dogs, like the desert fox I'd seen emerge from the Byzantine drains nibbling at my toes. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e76db01878e26a20b136eb261739d0b0_hd.jpg This basilica is typical of early Christian church architecture which adapted the Roman form of public building - a rectangle enclosing a central and two flanking aisles, with a tile roof at two levels to admit light through clearstory windows. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/12c38624dd26a5e7fcfc6faa01a9c701_hd.jpg As the cult of St Sergius grew in the early 5th C. Resafa was renamed Sergiopolis in 425, when it was the second most popular Christian pilgrimage destination after Jerusalem. Churches dedicated to St Sergius and his fellow officer Bacchus were later founded in Constantinople and Rome. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/56be56b91fade34c6a53aa39ddf463cf_hd.jpg In the middle of the night I was awakened by a bright light shining on my tent which turned out to be the newly-risen moon bathing the ruins in an eyrie silvery light. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ea0924bffc9da20ebad6588e42fbf317_hd.jpg Sergius was a high ranking Roman officer reputed to have been beheaded and buried in Resafa in 305 A.D. A secret Christian, he and a fellow officer were exposed when they refused to sacrifice to Jupiter. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/81aa8f58af00f5df9978fb2abd3ce31c_hd.jpg Byzantine decoration revealing Northern Syrian and Mesopotamian influences. Interior church decoration included elaborate mosaics now lost. German archeologists unearthed ritual silver vessels including a chalice used in the Eucharist 1500 years ago. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c239e03e6ec62fbee6300327dd102e04_hd.jpg The original 6th C. design had daringly wide lateral arches separating the nave from the side aisles. 20 years later the arches were partly filled in with two new arches and supporting pillars to better support the weight of the roof, It would be many centuries before Byzantine and European engineers worked out how to support such wide openings with piers and buttresses. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/fbc0e3e169f5f574000ec2ed4e9acbb5_hd.jpg Cistern openings. Resafe had no spring or running water, so it depended on three huge underground cisterns for storage. Outside the walls a dam blocked a local wadi and channeled winter floodwaters to the cisterns. The system was built in the early 6th C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/71e865923b26860d9020c82a240c7974_hd.jpg Peering into the largest of the cisterns, 180' long, 60' wide and 40' deep. More of Justinian's work. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4ad6bbcdb27ba8962e5a1519440e4b66_hd.jpg The following morning provided a clear view of the surrounding defensive walls. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/86a311b8bc229d0bbbf9bcc50552f789_hd.jpg The Centralized Church - This is a Christian martyrium built to shelter the grave of the martyr, St Sergius. Martyria were common after the early 4th century, when Constantine became the first Roman emperor to declare religious tolerance for Christianity. Their circular orientation was based on the mausolea of imperial Rome. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2de9e9ec00735163f1416ba93f4e4dae_hd.jpg 13th C. brick-built octagonal minaret moved 2km to higher ground in the 1970s to avoid flooding of Lake Assad behind the new Euphrates dam. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d89541a131e55de58d091d5cda7c5bdc_hd.jpg My home in Aleppo, the storied Baron Hotel. Built by two Armenian brothers starting in 1907. Lawrence of Arabia's unpaid bar bill hung in the bar. Agatha Christie began her novel Murder on the Orient Express in room 203. In 1920 King Faisal declared Syria's independence from its balcony. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f48905b7cc9838c75f0853cf7f78c195_hd.jpg Two floors of Baron's were complete by 2011 with the third added in 1940. The hotel was built for Europeans who found the caravanserai lacking in privacy. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/cc011790e3b51ba8f854bf115e78e03c_hd.jpg The terrace and balconies of Baron's provide a good view of the parade of Bedouin warriors in honor of the arrival of General Gourand in 1920. After WWI France and Britain took parts of the Ottoman Empire for themselves. Gourand replaced Faisal's briefly independent Syria with a new French Mandate over Syria and Lebanon. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/02c08de4f22bd6be4268dfea5c87d1d7_hd.jpg The entrance lobby of the Hotel Baron. The building is reported to have sustained minor damage in spite of being close to the front lines of the civil war. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/421ec61c62825b3a4442690c37a96fb4_hd.jpg The glass poster reads -"A unique hotel of the 1st class in Aleppo - central heating throughout - perfect comfort - a unique location - the only hotel recommended by tourist agencies. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d8eb5623b362e91b4d9549d7ac0edcec_hd.jpg The bar, where before 1914 English agents posing as archeologists spied on German generals entertaining their Ottoman allies. On my visit, a half dozen plump Russian trader women sat with bales of jeans at the bar along with two German engineers and several Syrian army officers. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/aa48b30047d00338afb0a4d16f8a1523_hd.jpg My room was cooled, barely, by a rattling air conditioner. The mattress was certainly less comfortable than when T.E. Lawrence last slept in it. But who could resist the history. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/495a8e9fc712dec9afc9a76a863168e7_hd.jpg The Great Mosque in the old city was completed 10 years after the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in 717. It was built on the site of the Hellenistic agora in the garden of the Byzantine Cathedral of Saint Helena. The atmosphere is relaxed in the shaded arcade where old men gather and gossip. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d019d809f0dfc8cbf6877b248b8b7795_hd.jpg Another view of the Mosque arcade as it appeared in 1996, a peaceful retreat for individuals and families from the nearby crush of the Souq. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/13101169c2124af5832db4891fd93e50_hd.jpg Courtyard of the Great Mosque taken with a toy camera and 120 roll film. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3d92c72c16a0bf62145a3c815108aa4d_hd.jpg Inside the Great Mosque of Aleppo in early 2017. The city was recaptured with the help of Russian airstrikes. - (credit Sebastián Liste/Noor Images, for The New York Times.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/12adcdfc6b1b632da72297287b27d89e_hd.jpg Ruins of the Great Mosque in Aleppo as it appeared in 2017. The minaret built in 1090 collapsed into thousands of fragments during shelling, and is now being painstakingly reassembled. (AFP/Getty Images) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/238c034120c1a066a73548ba901f1d74_hd.jpg The Citadel of Aleppo defends an acropolis that dates back 4,000 years. It is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world and dominates the city below. It has been occupied by many civilizations over the millenia including the Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottomans. The arched bridge dates from the 16th C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ea82bd2721e637a9f292533a528d3688_hd.jpg The Citadel is encircled by a steep glacis of smooth stone that makes scaling difficult and leaves attackers exposed. Much of the structure we see today is Muslim work dating from the 12th and early 13th C. restored following the Mongol sack of 1400, and more recently in the 20th C. The Citadel has suffered significant damage in the current civil war. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/809a20348f3dca069def95741c56735e_hd.jpg The Citadel in the mid-19th C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2a4abd34ab03c9d209f5b3d1797a0255_hd.jpg By the entrance to the ancient Aleppo Souqs. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/059f52c23da55afb59518b6db794d9e5_hd.jpg Inside the walls of the old city is the Souq al-Madina. With its long and narrow alleys, this is the largest covered market in the world, with an approximate length of 8 miles, lined by 1,000 small shops. (photo courtesy of Seier+Seier). https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ec96b82d97573b28cd3c49c0e0979d5c_hd.jpg The Souq alleyways connect to other civic structures such as this medieval asylum built in 1354, where violent lunatics were chained. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/908c641dc15538984b935893aea2506d_hd.jpg The Hammam al-Nahhasin, entered from the Souq, is one of the oldest and largest public baths in Aleppo, It dates from the 12th C. It has been rebulit many times since, most recently in 2021 following heavy civil war damage. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/30bf205e8a317fa112defd6adf3ae081_hd.jpg Most of the al-Medina souqs date from the 14th C. They were a world unto themselves. Traders from distant lands could stay in caravanserai in the souq. European consuls established their own khans in the maze. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/368d2d372f2232e359181aeaebc6a72a_hd.jpg In addition to 31,000 dead, years of shelling, airstrikes and barrel bombs, left much of the city in ruins including severe damage to the Souk, the Great Mosque and the Citadel. Restoration work has begun but will take decades to complete. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/514ffb137b7fd5ed6b9e58f859f18ddf_hd.jpg Al-Hatab Square in Aleppo’s Old City after the City's recapture by the Government in late 2016. Almost 36,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in four years of fighting.- Photo by Sebastián Liste/Noor Images, for The New York Times. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ba4f66a61d0ae5c7dbafefc80105d696_hd.jpg In the hills northwest of Aleppo stands the ruin of the Christian pilgrimage center of St. Simeon Stylites. Simeon was born in nearby Antioch around 390 A.D. A devout ascetic, he moved from a cave to a platform atop a pillar here, where he lived for several decades. This strange new form of asceticism attracted the curious and faithful from many miles around. My view camera is in the foreground. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/75cf8e9406076516a46021f7bd2c5fcb_hd.jpg Simeon set on his pillar to put some distance between his private devotions and the many visitors who came to hear him preach. He died there in 459 A.D. having won the admiration of the Church hierarchy all the way to Constantinople. This is the entrance to the great cruciform church erected around the base of his pillar not long after his death. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b9449a0ea93065b9592b6c45a5ffa786_hd.jpg One of the eight sides of the courtyard with the base of Simeon's pillar as the central point of focus. The four radiating basilicas come together at this point forming a cruciform design. Simeon's body was carried away to Constantinople, so this church is a shrine in his memory built with Imperial patronage. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/97f2b727c39e2c3904d6b7af369189dc_hd.jpg An upside down Chrisomon, combining the Chi-Ro, symbolizing Christ, and the Alpha and Omega - first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and the title "Christ and God" in the Book of Revelation. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6575dcbe22600cf4fa08482dfcd7dd9f_hd.jpg Outside wall of the of the eastern basilica of the cruciform church with decorative columns and finally detailed window surrounds. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b7fd6e76d5a3f308d2206e3f6ddc8c81_hd.jpg The Baptistry of around 490 A.D. is an essential part of the pilgrimage complex. The octagonal drum once had a roof shaped like a cone. The interior layout was designed to facilitate the mass baptism of converts. This Christian community was sacked by an Egyptian army in the 11th C. and abandoned. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/647c5a4a1e39b7dc5f01c1971a7e3b9a_hd.jpg The Dead Cities are a group of 40 villages in northwest Syria between Aleppo and Idlib. Most of the villages, which date from the 1st to 7th centuries, were abandoned between the 8th and 10th centuries. The settlements feature the remains of dwellings, pagan temples, churches, cisterns, and bathhouses. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c64bfc2902fd89ec98f4f0d7faece51c_hd.jpg The Dead Cities are situated in an elevated area of limestone known as Limestone Massif between Aleppo and the sea. These ancient settlements cover an area 20 miles wide and 90 miles long. Building materials were easily mined from quarries such as this. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f33739416a41ef85d117749ffc0d0aaa_hd.jpg It is thought these villages prospered during late Antiquity when their olive groves found a ready market in nearby Antioch. After the Muslim conquest trade with Anatolia was reduced and their inhabitants gradually migrated to more prosperous cities.. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4e4f10c97f8cfa27d6adc50467cadbfe_hd.jpg Access to the sea is no longer possible as these villages are now bounded on the west by a hostile border with Turkey. Some of these villages in Idlib Province have provided shelter to civil war refugees. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0c2d212dccf27bd08d84c9d67aaa6e8d_hd.jpg The abandoned village of Baqirha. This Byzantine Church dates from 546 AD. It has the typical three-aisle basilica plan. Located on the slope of the Syrian limestone hills, it looks down on the Turkish plain below. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9f7d616ed0218a0fe2ab8875b9662e7b_hd.jpg One of the few olive groves still tended in the hills west of Aleppo. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/367062cc92a97c902a07e5bfd83f12da_hd.jpg Apamea is the ruin of a Greek-Roman city founded by one of Alexander the Great's generals, Seleucus Nicator (358 –281 B.C.) His Seleucid Empire, one of the major powers of the Hellenistic world, controlled most of Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian Plateau. In 64 B.C. Apamea fell to Pompey and was annexed to the Roman empire. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/22debcb5115a9ef2c934367ec2863e1b_hd.jpg In the boom years of the 2nd C. A.D the Romans made this a large and prosperous town with a population of more than 130,000. Most of the remains seen today are Roman. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/708d0f8e2e370c85f5de1d0770eb7a21_hd.jpg The colonnaded porticos were paved with mosaics along their whole length being lined with stalls and shaded arcades. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3d3a51b858be8babed6d007ae1618e1f_hd.jpg The 1.2 mile colonnade is one of the longest in the Roman world. This avenue fronted villas, temples, baths and the agora. The ruined theater once held up to 20,000. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dd9818adf77a7cca521e9dad617b2376_hd.jpg Apamea has been excavated since 1934 by Belgian teams who have carried out one of the most thorough investigations of any site in Syria. Much of the fruits of their labors including a reconstruction of the Colonades can be seen in the Art and Hisory Museum in Brussls. During the civil war there has been damage to the site by many treasure hunters. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9c9a173c00e39cf56a3eeecad5fc43e7_hd.jpg Masyaf Castle in town of Masyaf 40km west of Hama. This is a Byzantine and Shia castle with later additions by Mamluks and Ottomans.This stronghold was the capital of the Shia Ismaili emirate in Syria for 130 years from 1141 A.D. This sect, also known as the Assassins, defended their interests by infiltrating enemy courts by stealth and dispatching their rivals with daggers. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2840528dddf4d53add55965802ff898e_hd.jpg Margat or Marqab Castle, first fortified by Muslims in 1062. It overlooks the Mediterranean above the road between Tripoli and Latakia. The first Crusade took the castle from the Byzantines in 1186. It then came under the control of the Knights Hospitallers. This is one of over 50 Crusader castles in the Levant. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/212124da4cdbdac2931b45518e22eba9_hd.jpg Under the Knights, Margat prospered with taxes on pilgrims and travelers passing nearby. In 1285 it finally fell to Mamluke attackers. The castle served as the residence of an Ottoman district Governor until 1884. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/045002e5558f04ccb5d60e36b42b0691_hd.jpg Entrance to the Crusader castle of Saone (Sayhun) in the hills east of Latakia. A Phoenician fort in the first millenium B.C. it was fortified by the Byzantines after 975. The Frankish family of Robert of Saone largely rebuilt the fortress between 1100 and 1188 as a feudal endowment from the crusader state of Antioch. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/57a0dd85209ac440920101597c748dd0_hd.jpg The ditch on the North side of the outcrop on which the Saone fortress was built. This 90' deep ditch is believed to have been cut from the living rock by the Byzantines. The pinnacle would have supported a wooden drawbridge. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/01d997f7dbb7391cc8ec5ebebbb25870_hd.jpg This fortified tower by the entrance to the castle was built by Crusaders. In 1188 Saone fell to the forces of Saladin after a three-day siege. The castle remained prosperous under the Mamluks until at least the late 14th century. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/640a64b64097a86df0ce64eac10d927e_hd.jpg Krak des Chevaliers. One of the most impressive medieval castles in the world. First fortified in the 11th C. by the Muslim ruler of Aleppo. It dominated the road from Homs to the coast. In 1110 the First Crusade took control of the site, and in 1142 gave it to the Knights Hospitaller who would occupy it for the next 130 years. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ccccb8e63bdaa3c5f0a2c3822fb7bf28_hd.jpg The Knights undertook an elaborate rebuilding program completed in the early 13th C. resulting in the massive form we see today. The castle served as an administrative center for the Crusader state of Tripoli and as a garrison for 2,000 troops guarding the Homs Gap. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3d248e6f15e5f0fd58c097b891b22135_hd.jpg The inner ward defended by a moat and steep glacis. A much diminished garrison surrendered to Baibars, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt in 1271 marking the beginning of the end of Crusader occupations in the Levant. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/04af2645fd030a853d6e1b76e27d97ac_hd.jpg These garrison corridors were tall enough that mounted soldiers could pass through. The last Crusaders were finally driven from the Holy Land in 1291. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/75d50ab0909dfaecbce615bc3699aa98_hd.jpg The gallery of the Knights Hall inside the fortress is late 13th C. work. the Franks brought a new design vocabulary from Europe into the Byzantine and Muslim east. The gothic tracery of this hall was recently damaged in a government airstrike. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/303c15589283e6bf0626d936c7fc7f87_hd.jpg Syrian government airstrike on Krak des Chevalier in its struggle to retake the fortress from rebels in March 2014. (Image courtesy Architexturez Newsletters.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9c344a36c15a185e41e5661f48d91293_hd.jpg Damage to the Gallery of Knights from government shelling. (Credit: Str/EPA/Shutterstock.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/03bbad7b9a69743c3dccc58f714fb170_hd.jpg The view from the inner ward of the countryside below. During the Syrian civil war the castle was held by rebels from 2011 to 2014. It was shelled and bombed in 2013 by government forces. A Latin inscription over a lintel reads "Grace, wisdom, and beauty you may enjoy, but beware pride which alone can tarnish all the rest." https://www.bartbrownell.com/palmyra 2022-02-12 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8380e533650e73c049556c609b74dee7_hd.jpg Palmyra named by the Romans "place of palms" is located in an oasis in the Syrian desert midway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. In the Bible and ancient Assyrian texts it was called Tadmor which is its modern name today. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2bd7647bb42a8df2686a7c5a17151dfd_hd.jpg Fed by a spring, the walled city was bordered by date palms and olives on one side and high hills on the other. At its peak it is thought to have had a population of over 100,000. Its inner defensive walls enclose about 200 acres, rivaling in size the old city of Damascus. (View from the nearby Mamluke Castle) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/cab15354e27d5c4260695d6d9681554b_hd.jpg How could so wealthy a city be built in the middle of a trackless desert. The answer lay in its location on a trade route between Mediterranean ports in the West and the silk road in the East. Palmyra was a way station and trading entrepot providing food, water and armed protection to camel caravans for a fee. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/37f438c8ea6a56c672acd08448b720cd_hd.jpg Up to 1,000 camels and pack animals might make up a caravan from Dura-Europos on the Euphrates to Palmyra, then on to the Mediterranean. (Engraving inspired by Louis-Francois Cassas' visit in 1799.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/995338271f4495c210e9adf45e05dd82_hd.jpg The Roman Empire at its peak under Hadrian with Palmyra as a major allied power in its eastern Province of Syria. Palmyra's autonomous authority under Rome came to an end when, during a period of Roman weakness in 273 AD, Queen Zenobia defied Roman authority and took control of its Eastern territories from Egypt to southern Anatolia. Zenobia's independence lasted only two years. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/55a490198394bd49ae49d711c60ceb1f_hd.jpg The French built the Zenobia Hotel next to Palmyra's ruins in the 1920s. Previously tourists stayed in tents after days of slow travel across the desert. The 1912 Baedeker advised visitors to travel with an armed escort. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4daea8ab7b37543822ac1160003e3255_hd.jpg The Zenobia was full so this was my second best in the town of Tadmor. Whether this Vespa actually visited all the countries advertised is a question. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9236d96e460c6deb37d2f30d048a0263_hd.jpg The Temple of Bel (the Semitic god Baal) was certainly the most important religious building of the 1st century in the whole of the Middle East. Dedicated in 32 AD, the temple stands inside an enormous walled compound each of whose four sides is over 670 feet long. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/19ddec129aae0122e197e07e090d5e6c_hd.jpg The earliest visual record of Palmyra in the West. Painted by G. Hofstede van Essen in 1693 from sketches he made on site with the English expedition from Aleppo in 1691. More sketches would not be made until 1751. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/7832e48adc405e68ce932563335b814f_hd.jpg The Temple precinct was fully occupied by a mud brick village in the 1920s enjoying defenses provided by temple walls 50 feet high. The villagers were paid by French archaeologists to relocate outside the walls in the 1920's. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/64d7231dcc65ee8e9bd33a00e867a968_hd.jpg Inside the temple precinct before the clearance. (Photo by John Garstang/1920s.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/06814bf2fc6e2b724729cf2ff6b31f40_hd.jpg VIew of the city and its vast temple in 1938 after the clearing of mud brick houses, https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2d12471d7c688dfef93e8f351039274c_hd.jpg This is one of 29 glass plate negatives, the first photographs of Palmyra, made by by Louis Vigne in 1864. This is the northwest corner of the precinct of the Temple of Bel. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f17f0bada9e4cab7b1f31265f130fe7a_hd.jpg The same northwest corner of the Temple enclosure in 1996. Here is the best preserved section of the outer wall with pedimented windows. An arched tunnel under the columns formed the entrance for sacrificial animals. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5ee5fa1ae0287e3a7a72962e27ded2ee_hd.jpg Engraving after drawing by Louis-Francois Cassas in 1799, with his reconstruction of the precinct of the Temple of Bel as it appeared in 120 AD.This enclosure was more than 2-1/2 times the area enclosed by the Jupiter Temple in Damascus. Here the Hellenistic details are paramount. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ff70be2201799be656f4de3d58c72000_hd.jpg The southwest corner of the temple precinct with some of the fluted columns that once made up the Cella colonnade. The walls behind are thought to have been damaged by an earthquake and then roughly reassembled in medieval times. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/58805f083ab8f995dce3338e9a5c5ac5_hd.jpg The same southwest corner from the outside looking in. (Louis Vigne 1864.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1fdda1fb7dc473f651bf5e6a2351ace4_hd.jpg An imaginative recreation of the impressive entrance porch through the Temple perimeter wall, now lost and replaced by an Ottoman citadel entrance . (Drawing by Iain Browning 1979.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9c7ff14b6120563364c4a3b4848f9820_hd.jpg Under the porch (the Propylaeum) entering the Temple precinct. This monumental entrance is thought to date from the late 2nd C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/726145f6e2edd0e1872e69bea12bb9bb_hd.jpg Through the porch, looking back at a religious procession returning a cult idol to its sanctuary. The western portico wall was taller with one row of columns rather than two as elsewhere. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c2bf1930ad2ca1bf82138b6931cd9dda_hd.jpg The Temple of Bel from the air in 1931. Ba'al, translated as "the Lord Master" was particularly associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations. From the land of Canaan, Baal was spread to Egypt and around the Mediterranean by the Phoenicians. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/32d93e318e5ef85a04d6505968770cf5_hd.jpg On a podium in the middle of the court was the actual temple building, the Cella, here depicted in an engraving of 1753, from a drawing by Giovanni Borra https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d5c427b9a1489795594c356be52a661d_hd.jpg The same view from the east as the Borra engraving but missing three columns. On the plaza to the left of the Cella was an open air altar for the ritual sacrifice of animals including bulls and camels. (Photo /the BBC) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/942aa129c7544f3b3fec8b91b6630110_hd.jpg Palmyrene art and architecture was less a direct Roman transplant and more of a synthesis of Hellenistic, Parhian and Semitic traditions that preceded the arrival of Rome. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d832ece12018416f7db4334c6b7f65ae_hd.jpg This reimagining of the Temple has greater emphasis on its Mesopotamian details, including roof structures for burnt offerings. (Visualization after Robert Amy. from Henri Seyrig, Robert Amy, and Ernest Will, Le Temple de Bêl à Palmyre (Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1975), https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/34c4def33c690f9884e96fe8ddcafbfd_hd.jpg The east wall of the Cella in 1996. Instead of the Corinthian capitals seen around the courtyard peristyle these columns are thought to have had bronze capitals. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5eeb4ee2e101d54a7d292680a36e3e3a_hd.jpg This reconstruction of the Cella shows what the bronze capitals might have looked like. The columns are 50 feet high vs. those of the Parthenon which are 34 feet high. The main entrance is off center on the side rather than on the end as in the Greek and Roman tradition. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/14c42d8a5a07888a1b490c4a89a9a00d_hd.jpg This is the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon dating from the end of the 2nd C. Its columns are 66 ft high. Unlike Palmyra, Rome commissioned this temple which is only 45 miles from Damascus. What does it owe to the older Temple? https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/627e331abc977c7fd50999eae9f43357_hd.jpg Entrance to The Temple of Bacchus in Baalbek (photo by Felix Bonfils, 1870-1885) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/577abd3d7c5b81c3edc09b2cfac7dbcf_hd.jpg Entrance to the Cella of the Temple of Bel which similarly dwarfs human scale. (Photo BGB 1996.) This monumental gateway owes more to Egypt than to classical Greek forms. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ce88f7c0184b5c5252d248f50fd3316d_hd.jpg The Cella was unique in the fact that it had two inner sanctuaries, north and south which housed the cult statues of Bel and other local deities. I am standing in the south sanctuary looking north, with a bit of the famous coffered ceiling above me. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/27830a2a03f6fb7eeee6fb08b9f3b6b1_hd.jpg The north, more important sanctuary chamber has a coffered ceiling showing the signs of zodiac. It had no steps and housed images of the Palmyrene triad of Bell and the gods of the sun and moon. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/591f08a0c4214e3ecd155e66a1115e69_hd.jpg The divine triad of Palmyrene gods Baalshamin, Aglibol, Malakbel in Roman military garb. Roman, 1st century CE. Limestone. Excavated outside the city. (The Louvre, photo: Hervé Lewandowski. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/345005569ae717ca4225ead1bf35ea0f_hd.jpg The southern sanctuary with its steps probably housed the portable image of Bel that could be carried around on feast days. The Greeks and Romans put their gods on pedestals. The idea of putting their idols in tabernacles is Syrian. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/81a13fe3e2df87bec464ef5750e64bbd_hd.jpg The glory of the south sanctuary is the monolith ceiling that so excited Wood and Dawkins in 1751. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/26d1309eb07bd349ed469a087a45269f_hd.jpg This huge painting in the National Gallery of Scotland celebrates Robert Wood and James Dawkins, two English antiquarians who with an Italian draftsman, Giovanni Borra, spent two weeks in Palmyra in 1751. Their careful drawings of architectural details and ruined buildings were published as engravings in the famous two volumes, "The Ruins of Palmyra" which had an enormous impact on designers and architects in England in the 1750's. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/31e638251a98c8b9cb8bed95cb93aaa3_hd.jpg Decorative detail, one of 100 plates from the two volume "Ruins of Palmyra, otherwise Tedmor, in the desart (London 1753.) The first publication to include not only views of the ruins, but also architectural details that greatly influenced neoclassical architecture in Britain, Europe and America. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b7243a44bad98484dfb262c274aaa67f_hd.jpg North Adyton ceiling from The Ruins of Palmyra by Robert Wood. (after drawing by Giovanni Battista Borra.) Robert Adam ceiling of 1772 at Osterley Park in west London. By the end of the century there were more than 30 "Palmyrene ceilings" in England. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1a07c229eff9f81e42f3871a9c2d761b_hd.jpg Beautiful carved detail lying loose beside the Cella. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/33e732bf0523a0cba201cddcdf9bc891_hd.jpg The Cella of the Temple was blown to bits by ISIS in August of 2015 ending the 2000 year life of the best preserved early Semitic temple in the Middle East. (Image analysis: Unitar-unosat) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b64d4ad4d29af585b390733c86815173_hd.jpg In addition to their destruction of Palmyrene monuments, ISIS also beheaded the Director of Antiquities in Palmyra, Khalid al-Asad during their year-long occupation in 2015. (photo 2021/ Louai Beshara/AFP.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/76d2d3750126862761ef4fa2d133d93a_hd.jpg A simplified contemporary reimagining of the Temple of Bel and the Colonnade Street at its eastern terminus. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3fe6b4555bfe40b4e8dc8200209aba9f_hd.jpg A view back toward the Temple from the Exedra, a semi-circular indentation in the line of columns connecting the late 2rd C. public entrance of the Bel Temple to the Monumental Arch on the left. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0733c7a46cddc8afd98a8b1d52e97f82_hd.jpg Another view of the Exedra which included seating and niches celebrating honored citizens. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/de03a5daf75c7475101b5d6f23323a63_hd.jpg The Monumental Gate marks a 30 degree turn in the broad avenue from the Bel Temple into the grand Colonnade street. This depiction of the Gate was included in Robert Wood's famous volumes of 1753. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c3589ed38d80e8ced3a3fa3d60a56fd4_hd.jpg Louis Vigne's glass plate of 1864 shows only a little degrading of the gate from the 1751 depiction. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/a257868050e9a4edf71491c946472085_hd.jpg The Gate as it appeared in 1996, almost unchanged from 1864 but for the addition of some supporting stone blocks part of a 1930s restoration. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/caa727e8b6ab7a22a9ebeb1b4c61a3a7_hd.jpg This structure has excited many visitors as it is really a pair of elaborately decorated gates that pivot like a hinge 30 degrees to anchor the end points of two avenue lines of sight. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/52bee96b314b3a6ce28d9063b82dd7be_hd.jpg The geometric decoration so abundant around Palmyra was a source of inspiration for the 18th C. neo-classical revival celebrated by English taste-makers such as Horace Walpole and Robert Adam. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/bf9cce6e8eea1081804f142ac5697e8a_hd.jpg More decorative detail under the Monumental Arch. Similar decorative motifs can be seen on other arches built during the reign of Septimius Severus, such as in Leptis Magna on the Libyan coast.(Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/58b33cbed5398ed0e667b72c4e5164d4_hd.jpg Recreation of the Monumental Gate by Iain Browning - 1979. Its scale in relation to the towns people seems a little exaggerated. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/db6597fefacb93fcc8a979298078b91e_hd.jpg However, this image with figures in the foreground suggests the scale of the Monumental Arch in the previous drawing is actually pretty accurate. This would be s principal entry point for camel caravans entering the city. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/cd4e140891ec5a04d2316117107a96d4_hd.jpg The monumental Arch, built around 200 AD was dynamited by ISS during their first occupation in October 2015. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4d3a22a3f7bbcd428afcba585c60df68_hd.jpg Remains of the Monumental Arch - April 2016 soon after recapture from Isis. (credit New York Times.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/57eedd262f883d31034fa51c310abe31_hd.jpg View back to the Monumental Arch with the entrance to the Baths of Diocletian on the left. This section of the Colonnade Street is mid-to-late 2nd C. (Drawing by Iain Browning 1979.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4067f380881a4a2e8d6a6a2469b73ca9_hd.jpg On the left is the entrance porch to the baths of Diocletian marked by red granite columns brought from Egypt. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0453924a270daed43a413b746fe8311a_hd.jpg The central colonnade street as depicted by Wood in 1751. Behind the columns were shops and side streets the Agora, municipal buildings and private dwellings.The center of the street was not paved to make it easier for camels. The 18th C. English were not happy about the statue brackets and depicted them at a more aesthetically pleasing height. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8c16b4e10aae285093e92a8cdc42b551_hd.jpg The grand colonnade street, 7/10ths of a mile long, with covered side passages, and cross streets, together with its major public buildings, is an outstanding illustration of urban design at the peak of Rome's engagement with the East. This same view showing the brackets as they actually are. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d361dd8f0b1ff71d29186858d7a87328_hd.jpg The Roman era theater, with entrances directly off the main colonnade, was mostly buried by the desert in the 19th C. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c309372f7b1c23cf7f2397ee5d09e874_hd.jpg This aerial shows the theater partly restored. (the BBC/AFP) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/7a324806c80b8723bc03bd1fa05851d1_hd.jpg The theater stage as it appeared in 1996. Capitals and pediments were restored on new columns in the 1950s. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e98a99458d0c86894fbe3601ea4c0b0a_hd.jpg Another view of the stage facade in 1996. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1f534e04941d65896fa22ddf9fe53477_hd.jpg The pediment and crown over the central entrance to the stage. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ef99abc4f3ae0ab9825d3fda38c1b589_hd.jpg ISIS propagandists used the stage as a backdrop for executions of captured government troops in 2015. The pediment over the center entrance was destroyed by ISIS during their second 3-month occupation of the city in early 2017. (Getty Images.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6f93c3fa0d93c62518254e2cc84cf262_hd.jpg The Temple of Baal-Shamin, another rain god in the Semitic pantheon.The earliest section dates from 17 AD. Private donors added to it in the early 2nd C with final improvents during the time of Zenobia. The Swiss made significant restorations in the mid-50s. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/808bbd14b59d19a023fc21079ce39bf0_hd.jpg The Temple of Baal-Shamin (circa 1900) by Theodor Wiegand (Berlin 1932). https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/96c58e1f4c1897e1970ef4dbd059ee5b_hd.jpg The small Cella of the temple precinct dates from AD 130 immediately after the Roman Emperor Hadrian's visit to the city.(photo: Jerzy Strzelecki 2007-Wikimedia) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ff6196540f1a9fb67eaba646a889a282_hd.jpg ISIS released this propaganda photo of their dynamiting of the temple of Bal- Shamin in August 2015. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/571895e36851fca8b1c0038344984037_hd.jpg Elegant fragments of ruined buildings lie scattered about much as they did in the 18th C. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/91edc1812bada1dd2eea2e4910ed001b_hd.jpg Remains of the inner peristyle of a grand private house. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/aef3fdf6b6ca7afbfa35a5a6305c2dd9_hd.jpg The Tetrapylon is one of the most recognizable of Palmyrene monuments. Restored by the French.,it was originally built to anchor one end of the great Colonnade street opposite the Monumental Arch. Each structure sheltered a more than life size statue. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/79a80561db69b0bb39efb6956055b050_hd.jpg Recreation of the Tetrapylon and Colonnade Street. By an anonymous artist after Louis-Francois Cassas a French architect who made many architectural drawings of Palmyra published in 1799. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e3941e65e56246b4dcfae98740056804_hd.jpg Another view of the Tetrapylon at dusk. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ba7a83ebd1d8aee01f47d888fcbaf34f_hd.jpg Russian photographs of the Tetrapylon after the first recapture from ISIS in early 2016, followed by a view of its destruction after the second ISIS occupation in 2017. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5ac4f82d7e68324e412935974bde3c61_hd.jpg The Tetrapylon destroyed as it appeared in 2017. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/827ba72bf3a80b82461a37e89db1454b_hd.jpg (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/7e27fd52f3d2478fa603ce92abab9a69_hd.jpg The Greco-Roman Funerary Temple is the focal point and terminus of the great Colonnade Street. The Mamluk castle in the distance dates from the 13th C. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4324e827a93bd1b0f0bdad5caea29050_hd.jpg Another view of the Funerary Temple. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8c13c288b62287397d41c3ca73776bfe_hd.jpg A reconstruction of the intersection of the Colonnade Street and the Funerary Temple. (Ian Browning 1979.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2d57849395ce12c3a5b8cae65a4095bc_hd.jpg The imagined interior of the Funerary Temple with carved reliefs sealing each burial niche,"a veritable family portrait gallery." (Iain Browning 1979.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c05aeb9fb3a1e69c48d0764c2fc7f268_hd.jpg Behind the Funerary temple is the 13th C. Mamluke castle. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/642b0dd4c4526448379d4af075ce839d_hd.jpg Looking back from the Funerary Temple toward the Tetrapylon. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/2ad2a9244eff4a843fcdaa7df5926593_hd.jpg The same view from a wider angle back toward the Tetrapylon. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/a4827588f79e8645c9aaefb3f3822121_hd.jpg A View toward the Valley of the Tombs, This government photograph dated 1931 traces the boundaries of the city and its walls. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/b77516bb1e952c179e6d9d9ef3521eae_hd.jpg Long lens view from above The Tower Tomb of Kithoth looking back toward Palmyra. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9b755845c6b6eb6d60a03517e71cff09_hd.jpg The Valley of the Tombs where wealthy families buried their dead. This photo gives a good idea of the desolate landscape surrounding the oasis. While walking here I had to shelter from a sandstorm. (Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg - 2008) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/07a65dec3318d8902259c4c4a59c13f3_hd.jpg There are the remains of as many as 500 tombs in the Valley. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4e9cf8aba4874a9a242f64b5649090e4_hd.jpg Two hypogea entrances with looted sculpted sarcophagi. These underground family burial chambers typically had multiple rooms with burial niches. Late 1st C. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d9b8109bf42c6c84dd2452ca2ec4ff1d_hd.jpg Ruined tower tomb with the Mamluke castle in the background. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/600696d81558a7554d3e0c1df602eeac_hd.jpg The early tower tomb of Kithoth dating from 40 AD around the same time as the first phase of the Temple of Bel. Destroyed by ISIS in August 2015. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/22d35c1792f85e1ece4583e588de77ea_hd.jpg Kithoths tower tomb as it appeared in 1864. The earliest examples of painting on plaster were found inside this tomb. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/71c1f8038bfbe549d3e736a9c70af753_hd.jpg The same tower tomb of Kithoth in the foreground in 1996. Across the valley on the left is the tower tomb of Iamblichus of 81 AD. It was the first of dressed stone and held 200 burials over three floors with impressive interior cornices and pilasters. Both towers were blown up by Isis in 2015. (Photo BGB 1996) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6dd6a977d787b37d8eac13666ba1f847_hd.jpg Some tower tombs held hundreds of embalmed bodies, each in a niche sealed with a portrait of the deceased. This is the recreation of a Palmyrene tomb in the Museum in Damascus.There are some 3,000 tomb portraits scattered across museums worldwide. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/5a27d93ffd1d8a024272209159243a99_hd.jpg The four-story sandstone Tower Tomb of Elahbel completed in 103 AD. An internal staircase led to the roof. (Photo by Vyacheslav Argenberg 2008). https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ee2544406068f15e2ffe497cd648d2fb_hd.jpg Main chamber of the Tomb of Elahbel. Fragments of silk from China were discovered in a sarcophagus here. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/3222da9ac2108b4d358722f6a62ccce3_hd.jpg Ceiling detail of the tomb of Elahbel. By the end of their second occupation Isis had dynamited this, and all eight of the most elaborate Palmyrene tower tombs. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dfbd86824a205db78be2aad05858c234_hd.jpg Wall with burial niches, Tomb of Elahbel. (from Louis-François Cassas, Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palaestine et de la Basse Aegypte, vol. 1 (1799–1800). https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/196b6f56e85b7cfdfa5c65b66a4b6d7c_hd.jpg Modeling Greco-Roman naturalistic traditions of portraiture, but often draped in native Parthian garments with eyebrows more stylized and incised, as in the Assyrian tradition. (British Museum.) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/de28d974a43b0adb78362922398dbffc_hd.jpg The marble cult statue of the Arabian goddess Al-Lat excavated from her temple in Palmyra. This Hellenistic sculpture takes much from representations of the Greek Athena with whom this goddess was associated. The head and arm were smashed by ISIS. (Palmyra Museum) https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f7b3807142818f6490d0ef84af87eefa_hd.jpg Funerary bust of a Palmyrene priest of around 230 AD. The largest collection of 100 funerary portraits collected by Danish archeologists since the 18th C. is in a Copenhagen museum. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/76a8dbf8788fc3de612d526ad9e252fd_hd.jpg Funerary bust of a wealthy Palmyrene lady in the Copenhagen Museum. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/18fec16c06720adf89cdb755680941f8_hd.jpg The same bust after a digital recreation of how it might have looked 1800 years ago based trace pigment analysis. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/59bbc4bd50c5110ed4c2109a733921e3_hd.jpg A grand family grouping from a tower tomb in the Palmyra Museum. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0ddbb01bf1bbf7efcb77826108dc138b_hd.jpg The same sculpture showing the kind of damage done to a majority of the major items in the Palmyra Museum. https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/d7135c9258be39aa2351ceff58cfa54e_hd.jpg 20-foot replica of the Monumental Arch carved in Italy based on designs by the Institute of Digital Archeology at Oxford. The arch traveled to London, Geneva, Florence, and New York. Efforts are already underway to work out how best to restore at least some of the monuments destroyed by ISIS. https://www.bartbrownell.com/downlands 2022-02-09 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/53a6b52234fdf81d72b3d5620e52806e_hd.jpg untitled-2.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e3d02b4f7e917281aad8b713338d1f11_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/1c6aa935c7f5b5ea0d4bf7671a60360a_hd.jpg bart_brownell_09-8.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8e260b1ec488c7cef9eb24b9a0e66edf_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/56b8cd72d7929594e6d0aed15bc7a0a6_hd.jpg untitled-5.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c3b70d06d960fd0ae7e68dc369ad6034_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1c8fff14cc74147c393101bcdf018c64_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/12ddebbc0a65ea44577eb939dd67c084_hd.jpg _-3.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/778bba32d54595262bdcda94dea9c6c7_hd.jpg _-4.jpg 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bart_brownell_09-13.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/a0b6dcde13402bfd326efdf1b9039a40_hd.jpg untitled.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/c49ed517c0026c0234854e50678512cf_hd.jpg bart_brownell_09-14.jpg https://www.bartbrownell.com/war_journal 2022-02-09 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/935934b72b72d99f59f5617c5e138f76_hd.jpg On the Mekong 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/339b943db390e020c4c305787dd550ef_hd.jpg Mekong Delta 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/b7afeb1ff6171007b22da3a401d5dd9c_hd.jpg Saigon River 1967 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/416b2c212bf0b270d14010e129206b5b_hd.jpg Villagers along the Mekong 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/bca40c75e5524d0f04cc2ea52fa2198a_hd.jpg Aftermath of the Tet Offensive Mekong Delta https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/52180ad479714f9afa10d55f5fae11a9_hd.jpg Mekong Delta temple after Tet Offensive https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/201203585a015c25d906db307db88064_hd.jpg Up river near the Cambodian border 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/59924e95f00819148ea582883499f51a_hd.jpg Family altar Cam Ranh Bay 1969 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/b47f7383a1a3de23373c176b4e0ab307_hd.jpg My Tho 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/b8f9684fadd67c884b9806d019a434bd_hd.jpg Chopper ride above the Delta 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a21e717271248163f01e12a463661b92_hd.jpg Near Saigon 1967 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/df9e9175e589c3e9187411fc759fd40a_hd.jpg Island near My Tho 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/c71a309dc53ecf88e885d75944ef7180_hd.jpg Follower of the Dao Dua on Con Phung Island 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/bc4ba8437cbc2fc1ef01a3d5785556e3_hd.jpg Con Phung Island 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/5df8e68f358838b261f1062f687e0d56_hd.jpg Con Phung Island 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/14b585a8cfc0ed51ed2db5f6db46a729_hd.jpg B-52 bomb trails Mekong Delta 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/06240c46b6256da6977149d9a1073db1_hd.jpg Across the Saigon River 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/c69d1350f414d19174fcd8f8ac30b0b0_hd.jpg On the Cholon Canal 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/4f392e7619f1cd1755b09b0fccbc8976_hd.jpg Saigon suburbs 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/f10c293c93e3c89df1365006f88c2906_hd.jpg The Cholon Canal 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/6fb71bad912ee8fec57b425da4b43cbd_hd.jpg Tu Do Street Saigon 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/5e68bfaccb6c2899d949645dcebdc965_hd.jpg Hue Girls School 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/054405a9c38e99dadf7fbb159aa9e53e_hd.jpg Siesta time Cercle Sportiff Saigon 1967 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/1cb564fa1a67045c99fd39bea5c20887_hd.jpg Vung Tau 1968 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/784f32c0bab03ff8b75c94ff87ee2479_hd.jpg Gralle Hospital Saigon 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/afdca726c1ca7a9dc56ba7fe325ccbd2_hd.jpg Outskirts of Tan San Nhut Airport Saigon 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a7408e6c566e8cf75a7d5af4528a0a6d_hd.jpg Bar girls Saigon 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/764ba45c879a5dadde1c5f004c3f12c4_hd.jpg Saigon souvenirs 1972 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/4c253de344dc194972580f5845c4ba98_hd.jpg Qui Nhon 1969 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/daa9b82606d86d37f441388c4a07ed84_hd.jpg Highway One, North of Danang https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/7f5e938f9b7e70fb3613db3eed989376_hd.jpg Along Highway One to Hue https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/e5fc47fbe23d11c2636fd9e62455e2eb_hd.jpg Quang Tri recaptured from the N. Vietnamese 1973 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/371c193787375df288f077db1e6ee0ab_hd.jpg Quang Tri after the battle 1973 https://www.bartbrownell.com/puebla 2022-02-09 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1ef141e6fbe8bcdfae89436a97b375c8_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/967b814dd70690b986dac33d8df315f1_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/193db5402f6d463b388d384541af5971_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c5c103dea5f1981323018ad6a2f96570_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f9bf5e803dd31cd4add61ce969feb34f_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4ea35b2c7ac7ef95605b643883bdc7d8_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f5299752cccfa7fa3f2f0dc7e04513fb_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/8b1d7c293e06c6a1b7f9d88033ad1bc4_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e76a20a090b288aa8ba94404a70b6eaa_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ecd991833e91a1065e3a8160a9865a11_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/778a24c296f80da2b8d6e7c54c367e3c_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9add81a4cf0feb2f2efc986ba5419898_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/6209c4e37fc38dff2c12bd121ecaf1ab_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/346c639ee49d17e4fc219526175ee1f2_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/da6d1020bb746874a52f1212efd0c132_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/c467567034964c0dad7c9675108520cb_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/7dae431f26dea9869f8a94482c1b4241_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9e6d087ec73281cfa91e874854a787eb_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/99678d7036cf0241050a7ffae68053c7_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/96f85339ef1bb7c6d95fc4142e887690_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/1d81d8f6aece1880e2f546d039e942f1_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/0c2f62e7d9057c8e0d8666103d650def_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/e0d328c62f7de3d03af9a0a125cbda0a_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/fe76b545a472c2e063a30436ed70d728_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/4b425708e31937442b7154b7108dfa73_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/cb6fc5696ce330353f9789a230502a59_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/f7f2f227202e4b630bbe209cb9dd51eb_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/dc0a05e9a986529adc5a35ed9eaec21f_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/9f20771e0c69b759fe779b9a802df49a_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/25586/ad97ce9626fd0165bb80e320049b70bb_hd.jpg https://www.bartbrownell.com/ha-long-bay 2022-02-09 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/c44622ac67a9f4ca735fe93f468b1e4d_hd.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/23c2da22aaf8b89a5bfe4bf3cbacb2d0_hd.jpg _.jpg We had most of the bay to ourselves, the prior week's trips had been rained out https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/c2248f252d6a8ddf0e3aba00b4f2b267_hd.jpg _-2.jpg Ha Long (descending dragon) Bay, now a world heritage site https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a26e56fd751b0b8fd311994b5e0b26b3_hd.jpg _-3.jpg There are two thousand karst outcrops with almost no place to land https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/0f5f6f17c4c1b651cef611be7df0684c_hd.jpg _-9.jpg Fishermen live on rafts https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/165119b33ae557adcfcfe7ea7ada0fd2_hd.jpg _-14.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/54dbd4bc8348a0859289cf290a1192b7_hd.jpg _-8.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a2605a614f9ff28117fcd7f38ebbcc2f_hd.jpg _-7.jpg Sailing toward our evening anchorage https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/bddb01726b460008c1b1627df82e59a9_hd.jpg _-6.jpg We drop anchor surrounded by walls echoing with the sound of cicadas https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/8ad5d2be0d1eae4dae410c2d83c37d11_hd.jpg _-12.jpg Next morning, fisherman with a hand net https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/94f10327b016af836e2edf5f7b1626d1_hd.jpg _-4.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/7b84ff55f7bc65ad33e7af7dad93f591_hd.jpg _-10.jpg The black dragon junk, with twenty westerners doing tai chi on deck, all in identical oriental robes https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/f5c9ee16b031e0ffb21189383bc998b3_hd.jpg _-11.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a7a7e3f55bbdb9359396d7708539b958_hd.jpg _-15.jpg https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/79d7c687a9f181a32c6ea46cd60b487a_hd.jpg _-16.jpg Local boats will take us to the village sheltered in the distance https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/1fec4b1fd6362420a085ce8a147ec4f0_hd.jpg _.jpg Under the arch into the bay https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/41ff1694261658e159dafed90685d574_hd.jpg _-5.jpg Around the other side with our junk in the distance, pearl farming is supervised by the Japanese https://www.bartbrownell.com/angkor 2022-02-09 weekly 0.5 https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/14fa4a7867f0f744aabd016fd9840d0b_hd.jpg Colonial road to Angkor https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/9df56b56a3a7438c085d0412c24917fa_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/d62293a921565338f7c969d23bd97bfb_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/b8fcbe3154a1fedc50d5e95a066cdaf1_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/e87a643bcdda9dd94329f3cfd5a030c0_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/9459c13a10da4bb58f75b33e86957183_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/8c3ae653f8d196a740fb8b8ba2e74f87_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/4913e43a202e15abff0e2abd2f916f5b_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/06766584135c17a32558e60e3493016d_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/50779f8c9e5a3d4ff94c7589f7183cb1_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/a89b18b0d4fde74d6d1f40d34823622c_hd.jpg The Bayon https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/f0cdfb325a439d08cf050c6c4c9a9dd2_hd.jpg Forest below Takeo https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/93f2cdc198bf66b4931bb122969901e0_hd.jpg Ta Prohm https://imageproxy.viewbook.com/fb04f3422e6bc477f45eb145061a8249_hd.jpg Ta Prohm 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