Don’t call me the 'Indiana Jones' of Syria
Archaeologist Amr al-Azm leads a team battling to save Syria’s monuments. This includes a museum full of priceless mosaics in the country’s last rebel stronghold, Idlib.
As a teenager, Amr al-Azm aspired to be like Indiana Jones but this fantastical Hollywood vision of archaeology was only fleeting, he grew up to fall in love with the real thing too. Amr is from Syria, a land scattered with incredible sites and monuments. But he watched in horror as his country descended into war and his ancient home became a modern battlefield. Priceless historic artefacts were bombed, defaced, plundered and lost forever. In response, Amr set up a network of frontline archaeologists - some of them former students and colleagues - risking their lives to protect what remains of Syria's cultural heritage. From Adnan, who secretly documented the antiquities smuggling trade run by the so-called Islamic State; to Abdul Rahman in rebel-held Idlib province, who guards the precious Roman mosaics in the Maara Museum from government airstrikes.
Presenter: Emily Webb
Picture: Amr al-Azm
Credit: Courtesy of Amr al-Azm
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Thu 19 Dec 2019 12:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Thu 19 Dec 2019 16:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia
- Thu 19 Dec 2019 18:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, South Asia & West and Central Africa
- Thu 19 Dec 2019 21:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service South Asia
- Thu 19 Dec 2019 23:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Fri 20 Dec 2019 03:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Fri 20 Dec 2019 04:06GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, East Asia & South Asia only