Recent photos show damages on outskirts of Aleppo citadel
The DGAM website published Monday photos showing the staggering scale ofdestruction on the outskirts of Aleppo citadel as a result of continuous clashes.
The photos were taken by the photographer Shady Martak during the last week of January 2016, the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums said.
Eng. Lina Qtifan, Director of the World Heritage Sites in the DGAM, made it clear that 130 real states, most of them located south of the Aleppo Citadel, were damaged. “The al-Sultaneyeh Mosque, Carlton Hotel, historical area in the old city of Aleppo were among the damaged real states.”
She asserted that the damages on the outskirts of the citadel caused by armed terrorist organizations’ attacks, especially blasts occurred on the outskirts of the citadel.
“The ancient city of Aleppo, which covers an area of 335 hectares, is a walled city includes buildings that date back to the 12th century plus schools and caravan serais date back to the 16th -17th centuries. It represents a unique urban fabric and it was listed by the UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1986,” Eng. Qtifan said.
In danger
She pointed out that ancient city of Aleppo was placed on the UNESCO’s World Heritage in danger list due to the war on Syria. “The DGAM sends regular reports to the UNESCO to document damages took place since the terrorist organizations started to target the city.”
By the beginning of 2012, the so-called opposition asked the owners of the shops in the ancient markets to close their shops in order to put economic pressure on the government. But the shops’ owners refused to do that, therefore the opposition occupied the markets and looted them.”
On September 29, 2012 the opposition set fire to the shops and demolished them.
http://syriatimes.sy/index.php/culturt/16216-aucssr-to-be-active-despite-circumstances-and-sheds-light-on-staggering-scale-of-destruction-in-12200-year-old-city-of-aleppo
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