The iconic columns of a temple with historic significance in
Palmyra, Syria, are still standing despite an explosion there Sunday, the
antiquities chief in Syria, Maamoun Abdulkarim, said Monday.
He said there
was an explosion Sunday inside the walls of the Temple of Bel, and while the
extent of the damage is not yet known, witnesses report the walls are still
standing. He called the site "the most important temple in Syria and one of the most important in the
whole Middle East."
For nearly 2,000
years, the Temple of Bel has been the center of religious life in Palmyra. But
now, at least part of the temple has been destroyed by ISIS, according to the UK-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists in Syria
for information.
ISIS has become
known not only for its brutal executions, but for its hatred of antiquities --
and its wanton destruction of them.
Recently, it
executed Khaled al-As'ad, an 82-year-old man who had spent his life on the
painstaking task of preserving antiquities in Palmyra, because he refused to
reveal where various irreplaceable relics had been hidden.
And now,
apparently, ISIS has damaged the Temple of Bel.
Abdulkarim had
told CNN on Monday that officials were working to confirm the reports with
sources in the city.
'Meeting
point' between classical, Eastern architecture
"We are waiting for details on the
truth of what occurred, the exact location inside the temple, and the size of
the destruction," Abdulkarim said.
The
first-century temple, which is dedicated to the ancient "god of
gods," is one of the largest and best-preserved in the region and
represents a meeting point between classical and Eastern architecture,
Abdulkarim said.
ISIS, perhaps
the most brutal terrorist group to emerge in modern times, has shown a taste
for demolishing irreplaceable ancient sites and antiquities. It considers
"pre-Islamic religious objects or structures sacrilegious," wrote Sturt Manning, chairman of
Cornell University's Department of Classics, in an opinion piece for CNN.com.
"It seeks
to destroy diversity and enforce narrow uniformity. Evidence of a tolerant,
diverse past is anathema," he said. "What it fears is memory and
knowledge, which it cannot destroy."
Last week, ISIS
published photos of its destruction of the temple of Baal Shamin, the first
major structure in the ancient city of Palmyra to be destroyed.
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