A picture of mine made the BBC website yesterday, plus another from my travel buddy hamish (Andrew Hurst).

You can see the whole gallery here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-32824052

They also extracted a couple of quotes from a few paragraphs that I wrote about the horrific thought of Palmyra being destroyed. Here is the full extract:

“As a traveller only and aside from any political or religious commentary, what is happening in Palmyra and other such places is tragic. The three magical elements that any open-minded traveller bases their wanderlust fulfilment on are the people, the culture and the sites. All three are in grave danger in the likes of Palmyra.

To damage these elements through a natural disaster such as just experienced in Nepal is awful, for it to happen at the hands of human beings is a crime against humanity. If, like the Buddhas of Bamiyan that were destroyed at the hand of the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, Palmyra is reduced to rubble, it would be an irreversible loss of one of the world’s jewels, a great loss to future generations and a huge futile waste.

Unfortunately there seem to be principles at play here that are more akin to those that existed many centuries ago, with people determined to destroy the soul of the people as well as ending their livelihoods and lives. Ironically, it may well be the wanton destruction of such a place that resonates more greatly with the outside world than the oft forgotten human tragedies that have been unfolding in the region for many years now.

Certainly if I remember correctly it was that barbarous act by the Taliban in 2001 that spurred the world into greater action and sadly it might just take the destruction of such a fabulous site as Palmyra to drive similar condemnation and subsequent action.

The price of peace should not be destruction of priceless artefacts, but sadly that is often what it takes. Even Hitler understood the importance of preserving history, today’s warmongers sadly glorify in destroying it.”