Last week Daesh (ISIS) added to its list of destroyed heritage sites by blowing up an ancient temple in Syria's Palmyra. The reports were confirmed over the weekend with satellite images that showed the 2,000-year-old Temple of Baal Shamin had been erased off the map.
Since Daesh's takeover of the ancient city, activists and scholars around the world have been trying to resurrect Palmyra with archived photos, hoping publicity of the UNESCO-listed site would bring greater attention to the dangers it faces with the militants in control.
But there hasn't been something quite as elaborate as this: The Middle Eastern Media Research Institute created a 360-degree interactive map of Palmyra that takes you on a virtual tour of the central city, once a popular tourist destination for anyone who appreciated Syria's rich history.
The interactive map takes you through the best of Palmyra, at a time when the city was still open and safe for visitors. And it goes to show, there's a lot we can remember regardless of what Daesh comes up with next.
Here are some of the best shots from the interactive tool — but it's worth checking out for yourself.
By Hayat Norimine
