Excerpt
SUMMARY: Until recently, Aleppo, Syria was a vibrant destination, attracting tourists to its famous souk, an eight-mile marketplace, and to the Citadel, one of the oldest castles in the world. But as violence has increased, the city's ancient and cultural landmarks are the next casualties of the Syrian Civil War. Jeffrey Brown reports.
JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): As the conflict in Syria rages on, the death toll climbs. More than 34,000 people have been killed in the violence that began in March of last year. More than 350,000 refugees have left the country. A million more have been displaced from their homes in Syria. It's a human tragedy on an immense and horrifying scale, but it's also becoming clear that the battle between Syrian government forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army is taking another kind of toll on the country's rich and historic cultural heritage.
A center of that heritage: Aleppo, Syria's largest city, now a scene of destruction that we report nearly every night. But less known is this. Aleppo is considered perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited human settlement in the world, home to numerous civilizations layered on top of one another, including Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols and Ottomans, that reach back to the beginning of recorded time.
No comments:
Post a Comment