Live the Experiences of the Past Project Palmyra
Live the Experiences of the Past Project Palmyra
Live the Experiences of the Past Project Palmyra
Live the Experiences of the Past Project Palmyra
PALMYRA
Palmyra was among of the most impressive ancient cities (like Pompeii and Ephesus) which were ever brought to light. This most impressive ruined city of the middle-east lay in the heart of a huge oasis in the Syrian desert. Surrounded by palm groves, two mountain ranges, and a pleasant stream, the ancient city of Palmyra had the aura of myth. It had long been recognized as one of the most famous testimonies of antiquity, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1980.
This city occupied a historically significant and culturally important position of incomparable value. Since it lay geographically on a favorable old caravan road between Rome and the Persian Gulf, Palmyra's wealth was based on commerce. It was an interface between Orient and Occident, a place of cultural encounters and blending. Pliny the Elder said: "Situated in a vast expanse of sand and renowned for its fertile soil and pleasant streams, the ancient city of Palmyra was a stopping point for caravans traversing the Syrian Desert" (Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.88.1). An oasis in the Syrian Desert, Palmyra was known as “the Venice of the sands” and “the bride of the desert”.
The city rose to prominence 2000 years ago during the reign of "the warrior queen", Zenobia. With the legendary Queen Zenobia around AD 270 Palmyra had a last, brilliant climax. Zenobia resembled Cleopatra of Egypt in many ways. She had reigned like Cleopatra and was defeated by Romans like her. Her regina concurred with an epoch when Romans began to take interest in Palmyra, firstly for economical and lately for political reasons. As a result of an abrupt rise of Roman interest for Palmyra, the glamour of the city did not last long: the war waged between Queen Zenobia and Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the end of the caravan metropolis, and resulted in the pillage of the city. Material evidence from the Byzantine and Muslim periods insinuated that the city was still populated for a long time, but it had never returned to the old bright days.
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Palmyra used to contain well preserved temples which were consecrated to ancient Mesopotamian gods, a colonnaded street with Corinthian columns, a theater, and the valley of tombs. They used to be the extant manifestations of the richness of Palmyra. A tetrapylon marked and highlighted where the heart of the city had once beaten. Situated at the skirts of the mountain range was a huge necropolis whose murals and expressive portrait paintings reflected the prosperity of the merchant class of the city. It had long been counted among the most eloquent and stupendous ruined cities from the ancient world. The cultural significance of Palmyra, which was so rich in archaeological remnants that melded the west with the east made it the primary target of terrorist assault. The effect of the destruction of ISIS since May 2015 was all the more devastating. Whatever had been created and cultivated since those memorable years of Palmyrene wealth and Roman might have been blown up. Today, we can revive and appreciate the majesty of Palmyra only through its reconstruction and this project aims at offering a glimpse of Palmyra as it once was.
Figure 1 Triumphal Arch
Figure 2 Tetrapylon
Figure 3 Valley of Tombs
Figure 4 Theater
Figure 5 Agora
Figure 6 Diocletian Bath
Figure 7 Temple of Bel
Figure 8 Temple of Balshamin
Figure 9 Temple of Nabu
Figure 10 Funerary Temple
