Today, Iraqi heritage faces new threats from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, the Islamist extremists who have taken over much of northern Iraq, including the city of Mosul, where they have already destroyed ancient shrines. The situation in Syria is equally dire. Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj is a Syrian architect who in the 1990s worked on the restoration and redevelopment of the Old City of Aleppo — an area that was devastated when it ended up “on the dividing line between rebels and regime forces,” he said. The Islamist militants, Mr. Hallaj said, have “absolutely no reverence” for the country’s antiquities and view them as a source of cash.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:14:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015