Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Moscow, SANA- Discussing the importance of the Silk Road and the ancient city of Palmyra were the most important topics touched upon at the events of the third day of the International Forum for the 50th Anniversary of Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The Forum is being held between 1 and 9 December, 2022, in Kazan with the participation of the Syrian delegation headed by the Minister of Culture, Lubana Mshaweh, and representatives of the Silk Road countries.
Delivering a speech, Minister Mshaweh pointed out that Palmyra played a pivotal role during the first centuries on the Silk Road and Incense Route, so it flourished, built huge monuments, and became the focus of everyone’s attention and greed.
“This honorable history, which constitutes one of the most important components of the Syrian cultural identity, is what the enemies of civilization wanted to destroy” Mshaweh went on to say.
Mshaweh pointed out that the Arch of Triumph is one of great Syrian symbols, and that rebuilding and restoring it is a great responsibility, which requires a lot of research and study within the best international methods used in similar cases.
In turn, Director of excavation and archaeological studies, Hammam Saad, dealt with the history of archaeological research on the Arc, and presented the Syrian experience in restoring archaeological sites and buildings over seventy years.
Nazir Awad, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), presented the projects implemented in Palmyra in cooperation with several governmental and foreign agencies, reviewing the work of documenting damage and preparing for the next stage.
The experts participating in the topic also reviewed the ancient history of Palmyra, its cultural, symbolic importance, the creativity of the Palmyrenes in managing irrigation methods, in addition to the destruction caused by terrorism, the work of documentation and restoration in Palmyra Museum, and the methods that can be followed in rebuilding the Arch.
The experts agreed on the need to adopt accurate and global standards in the process of restoration, and decided to hold a meeting in Damascus to follow up the research on methods to reach the best options in the second phase of the project to rebuild the Arc.
ALI,Baraa
