by Bernhard Kirschner
“Humanity’s cultural heritage in Syria is in danger.” With these powerful words, the former director of the National Museum in Aleppo, Youssef Kanjou, pleaded for help in saving the archaeological sites during a lecture at the Tübingen District Office. The 53-year-old fled the civil war with his family in 2013. He has been living in the district of Tübingen for nine years and works for the news platform tuenews INTERNATIONAL.
In February, Kanjou traveled to Syria for a two-week visit. He was shocked by the destruction of his hometown of Aleppo, which he was able to show the audience in pictures. Almost 50 people attended the lecture at the Tübingen District Office. They were shocked by the extent of the destruction and at a loss as to how help could be provided. Large parts of the huge old market in the old town and the citadel were damaged. “Many historic buildings have been razed to the ground, but some can be rebuilt. If no help comes from abroad, everything will be irretrievably lost,” Kanjou implored the audience. It is not only about Syria’s cultural heritage, but about the heritage of humanity.
Hotspot of human history
In his lecture, Kanjou had previously pointed out the special cultural significance of Syria: a hotspot of human history. The country has been settled for a million years. The first villages and cities were founded there. The great empires of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians have left their mark. All empires were represented there: Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans.
National Museum in Aleppo damaged
Their legacies, found during the numerous excavations, were on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Aleppo: stone tools, bronze knives, vases, reliefs and sculptures. The most valuable pieces were brought to safety in Damascus before the war, and the heavy reliefs and statues were walled up. They survived the war and the earthquake of 2023 relatively unscathed. But the museum is in a terrible state, as Kanjou’s photos show.
Saving Syria’s cultural heritage
Its former director is now hoping for international help. Before the civil war began in 2011, more than 100 teams were working at the archaeological sites. Germany was also strongly represented, with archaeologists from Berlin and Tübingen. Out of tradition. At the beginning of the 20th century, the diplomat and orientalist Max Freiherr von Oppenheim excavated the settlement of Tell Halaf from the Bronze Age and made sensational finds, Kanjou reported. He is well connected with Syria experts around the world. He is working with them on plans to save the archaeological sites. Kanjou was encouraged by the visit of a delegation from the German Foreign Office to Aleppo, which he was able to meet. There are positive signs. But we have to wait until there is a new German government, the archaeologist says, exercising patience.
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