UNESCO Visits Quake-Affected Archeological Sites in Aleppo
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – A delegation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) visited on Saturday many archeological sites in the city of Aleppo, which are on the agency’s World Heritage List, with the aim of assessing the damage caused to these sites due to the February 6 earthquake.
Syria Trust for Development, a non-profit government-affiliated organization which focuses on personal development, said in a post on its Facebook page that it “accompanied the delegation together with the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.”
The organization added that the goal of the visit was to assess the size of damage caused to the ancient neighborhoods so it (UNESCO) can prioritize which places it needs to address first.
Another goal for the visit, Syria Trust for Development said, is to study funding some projects that would repair sites that need urgent intervention such as the city’s ancient souks and Aleppo Citadel whose buildings and towers date back to the Ayyubid dynasty era (1171–1260).
The organization noted that this is the first UNESCO visit to the country since the Syrian Civil War started in 2011.
On February 6, Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums revealed the size of damage caused by the earthquake to archeological sites in Syria, most notably the citadel.