In 2009 I visited Palmyra with my family. We first toured the ruins on our own and then ate mansaf (a popular rice and meat dish in the area) at a local restaurant. I didn’t know that one day this historical site with thousands of years of history would be destroyed by terrorists.

The pictures included were all taken by me during my visit.

In 2015, Palmyra came under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which later destroyed a number of the site’s buildings. The city was retaken by the Syrian Army on 27 March 2016 but was retaken by ISIL on 11 December 2016 and further destruction of the site followed in 2017.

On May 5, 2016 we were celebrating Palmyra’s liberation and honoring the victims that passed away including a Russian solider that was martyred.

 A Russian symphony orchestra led by Valery Gergiev has given a unique performance in ancient Palmyra, recently liberated from Islamic State militants. The concert was devoted to the victims of extremists, and intends to instill hope that peace can triumph over war and terrorism.

The symphony orchestra concert was titled “Praying for Palmyra – Music revives ancient ruins” and was performed in the Roman Theater of Palmyra, one of the few sites still largely intact after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) captured the city. The venue served as the main site for the annual Palmyra festival prior to the terrorists’ rampage in the region.

Russian orchestra celebrating Palmyra’s liberation and honoring martyrs

Video of Russian Orchestra performing in Palmyra in 2016

As of 2/13/17 Militants with the Islamic State group, which started pillaging the famed ancient Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, when taking control of the city in 2015, won’t stop doing so until all of its historical treasures are reduced to rubble, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday.

Visual evidence provided by an unmanned Russian aerial vehicle shows that “an upsurge in truck movement” near the ancient ruins point to plans by the organization known as ISIS to destroy more of the UNESCO World Heritage Site before being forced to retreat the city due to advancements made by the Syrian armed forces, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Palmyra new video shows ISIS damage to Palmyra 2/13/2017

Aerial video shows the destruction of Palmyra’s Tetrapylon and the Roman Amphitheatre 

The 5000 year-old city of Palmyra is one step from turning into ashes now on the hands of ISIS who’s being fully covered by the US-lead coalition

To the left is footage from 6 June 2016, to the right 5 February 2017

Aerial footage to show difference between 2016 and 2017