First phase of restoration acts at Krak des Chevaliers completed

Homs, SANA- The first phase of the restoration works at Krak des Chevaliers has been completed, as part of an agreement signed between the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), the St. Ephrem Patriarchal Development Committee and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All East. Acts of restoration included al-Zahir Baybars tower, the church tower and the Ottoman House.

Minister of Culture, Lubana Mshaweh, inspecting the works of the first phase, told reporters that the national experiences that gathered in this place stress their love for it, with the need to restore glory to that majestic castle and to invest it in an optimal way that benefits the region.

The Minister added that after completing the first stage of the restoration acts, the second stage will start-up as soon as possible.

Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme president of Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, said that the state of partnership witnessed here in this ancient place is a first step towards the presence of Syrian cadres able to conduct a survey of antiquities in order to restore them with the participation of the Hungarian side, which provides what is necessary to restore and rehabilitate the castle.

Director- General of Antiquities and Museums, Muhammad Nazir Awad, affirmed that Krak des Chevaliers is one of the most important Syrian archaeological monuments inscribed on the World Heritage List, and that the restoration work of the first stage completed in al-Zahir Baybars Tower.

Nisreen Othman/ Mazen Eyon