Damascus, SANA-An imposing statute of Queen Zenobia, the 3-rd century queen of Palmyra, and her regal wagon arrived in the Umayyad Square in Damascus where it will stay for four days.
The statue has arrived in Damascus as part of “From Palmyra to Damascus” activity within the 5th Forum of Arts and Innovation organized by the Ministry of Tourism.
The statue will be set up next to another for martyr Khaled al-Asaad, a prominent archeologist that ISIS brutally murdered on August 18, beheading him and hanging his body to a column in Palmyra’s National Museum’s Square.
Tourism minister Bisher Yazigi said in a press statement that the activity, with the steps it features to preserve ancient relics, proves that “life in Syria cannot be brought to a standstill despite raging war.”
ISIS has wrought havoc to the city of Palmyra, a UNESCO world heritage site, recently flattening tower tombs by using large amounts of explosives and the Temple of Bel, which for nearly 2,000 years has been the center of religious life in Palmyra, less than 10 days after destroying the Temple of Baal Shamin, triggering fears over the destiny of the unique world heritage.
Manal