Before-and-after photos reveal the horrific toll that three years of civil war have taken on Syria.
The Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo was regarded as a feat of Syrian architecture when it was restored from the 11th to 14th centuries.
Now the edifice known as the Great Mosque — and believed to house the remains of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist— stands largely destroyed by fighting between rebels and President Bashar al-Assad’s forces last April.
Souq Bab Antakya, Aleppo’s main street for centuries, has been reduced from a bustling bazaar to a graveyard of bombed-out entrances.
In the town of Deraa, the Omari Mosque’s minaret stood for more than 13 centuries — until Assad’s forces shelled it in April 2013.
Modern marvels have been ravaged, as well. Al-Kindi hospital of Aleppo, built in 2003 as an emblem of the nation’s health-care system, is a mass of rubble, with $30 million in damage.
Meanwhile, peace talks in Geneva were deadlocked Monday. UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi admitted the talks “haven’t produced much,” but said he’d bring the sides together again Tuesday.



