A quick warning, this episode contains descriptions of violence.

Amar al-Azim is a Syrian archaeologist, and in the early 2000s, he was working as a lecturer

at the University of Damascus. And during his time there, one of his favorite things to do with his students was to make

the 150-mile trip to Palmyra, northeast of Damascus, to visit the ancient Temple of Bell

at sunrise.

There's a particular ritual that any visitor is advised if they are able to do so, and that's to go and visit it very early in the morning at dorm.

So when the sun is rising, the building itself is on an east-west axis.

And so as their sun rises in the east and beginning to rise, it's quite dark, obviously, still.

And you stand in there and you're just waiting,

and then this burst of light is just going to explode inside the room. And it's quite spectacular.

The Temple of Bell was built around 2,000 years ago, and it is, or it was, one of Syria's most loved and

important ancient sites. It had lived countless lives as the city around it was ruled by

different empires. Around 32 AD, it was first dedicated to a Mesopotamian god, then it was a church

during the Byzantine era, and then a mosque. Before this last Syrian war, it also hosted the Palmyra Music Festival. But in 2015, the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren,

Syrians, they're never going to be able to have that experience.

My children have never been to Palmyra.

Now, they might be able to see pictures of the temple at Bell.

They might even see a recreation or a reconstruction,

but it won't be the real thing.

And more importantly, they'll never be able to have that same experience I had.

And I think that's really tragic. But I think every

Syrian who feels some sort of connection with a place or a location that's been damaged or destroyed

...