Syria before the war

Photographer Kevin Bubriski visited Syria in 2003. Now, sixteen years on, his pictures are a memory of a Syria that no longer exists. The Suq in Aleppo was considered to be the longest continuously inhabited place of commerce in the world, existing for well over two millennia. Aleppo is now in ruins. ISIS destroyed much of Palmyra.

From Burbriski's book Legacy in Stone: Syria Before War:

Near Bab Qinnisrin, Aleppo, Syria, 2003

Suq, Aleppo, Syria, 2003

Abdel Rizaq Bakir, Ropemakers, Suq, Aleppo, Syria, 2003

Father and son, North of Aleppo, Syria, 2003

Street near Khan-al-Tutun-al-Kebir, Aleppo, Syria, 2003

Church of St Simeon, Syria, 2003

Kharab Shams, Syria, 2003

Palmyra, Syria, 2003

Palmyra, Syria, 2003

Valley of the Tombs, Palmyra, Syria, 2003
[Photos  © Kevin Bubriski]