Palmyra could reopen to tourists in summer 2019

The Palmyra archaeological site in Syria could reopen to tourist visits in thesummer of 2019.The ruins of the ancient city have been severely tested by the Syrian civil war, and some of the monuments were deliberately destroyed between 2015 and 2017 by ISIS militants, who also brutally murdered the site’s director, archaeologist Khaled al-Asaad, because he refused to tell them where some important artifacts had been hidden.

Putting forward the timetable for reopening is the governor of Homs (of whose governorate Palmyra is part), Talal Barazi, who made the announcement in an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency. “The authorities,” he explained, “have a plan to restore all the damage suffered by the ancient city of Palmyra. In addition, there are proposals, from world powers, to restore some of Palmyra’s works of art and historical treasures. I believe Palmyra will be fully ready to welcome tourists in the summer of 2019.”

The countries that would be proposed for the restorations, Barazi further states, would be Russia, Poland and Italy. Some Palmyrene sculptures are already in restoration workshops at the National Museum in Damascus, where work has begun. Palmyra has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980. And it is “part of the history of the world,” Barazi concludes, “not just belonging to Syria.”

Pictured is a photo of Palmyra in 2010. Ph. Credit: Bernard Gagnon

Palmyra could reopen to tourists in summer 2019

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