2018-03-26 Mon

The Syrian Arab Republic on 10th October 1968 issued number of stamps depicting the heritage sites that have been destroyed or at risk of ruin from armed conflict.

The 15p stamp depicts the Monastery of St. Simeon the Stylite, established during the fifth century northwest of Aleppo. The Monastery is one of the oldest surviving Byzantine Churches in the world and consequently, the church and village were designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2011.

Initial fears for the site’s safety were raised during the Syrian conflict whilst it was under the control of Islamic State forces who have garnered widespread notoriety for their practice of destroying Islamic, Christian and other historical sites. Although safely recaptured by Kurdish forces in 2015, the monastery was heavily damaged by a possible air strike on 12 May 2016.

Image Courtesy: Google Images