(25 Feb 2025)
SYRIA CRAK DES CHEVALIERS
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
LENGTH: 3:53
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Homs, Syria – 29 January 2025
++PART MUTE++
1. Various drone shots of Crac des Chevaliers, a medieval castle originally built by the Romans and later expanded by the Crusaders ++MUTE++
2. Sign reading (Arabic/French): "Le Krak des Chevaliers"
3. Various of a group of Red Crescent workers visiting the castle
4. Various of damaged columns inside castle
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hazem Hanna, architect and head of the Antiquities Department of Crak des Chevaliers:
"In March 2014, the castle was hit by an air strike carried out by the regime (referring to the military of ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad). The damage caused by the strikes affected the courtyard, al-Zahir Baybars Tower and the Leaders Tower or Tower 49. These are the main damages or the big crucial ones. We managed to restore some areas like al-Zahir Baybars Tower and the Leaders Tower. We are currently about to restore other areas that were affected in the Crak des Chevaliers. There was also the destructive earthquake that hit our country on Feb. 6, 2023."
6. Hanna walking next to damaged columns
7. Hanna showing olive press and storage area
8. Various of olive press and storage area
9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hazem Hanna, architect and head of the Antiquities Department of Crak des Chevaliers:
"Thank God, we managed to restore some areas or the most critical areas in the Crac des Chevaliers. We are working with all our effort to preserve this important historic monument in cooperation with international organizations and local ones because the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums is trying with all its effort to preserve this historic site, knowing that it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006. And as a result of the war that we went through, it was inscribed on the list of World Heritage in Danger in 2013. We are working with all our effort to get it removed from the list of World Heritage in Danger."
10. Pan right of castle
11. Fighters taking photos inside castle
12. Various of visitors inside castle, visitors taking photos
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hazem Hanna, an architect and head of the Antiquities Department of Crac des Chevaliers:
"Syria is known for its touristic sites and the Crac des Chevaliers is considered the top destination among those sites in Syria. It was visited by many tourists before 2011. According to our figures, 264,000 foreign visitors visited the site in 2010. As a result of the war that happened in Syria, and from 2014 until this year, the flow of tourism was heavily impacted."
14. Various of drone shots of damaged columns ++MUTE++
15. Drone shot of the castle ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Syria’s once-thriving landmarks like the medieval Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers remain scarred by years of conflict.
Perched on a hill near the town of Al-Husn, with sweeping views, Crac des Chevaliers, a medieval castle originally built by the Romans and later expanded by the Crusaders, was heavily bombarded during the Syrian civil war.
Hazem Hanna, an architect and head of the antiquities department of Crac des Chevaliers, pointed to the collapsed columns and an entrance staircase obliterated by airstrikes.
Damage from government airstrikes in 2014 destroyed much of the central courtyard and the arabesque-adorned columns, Hanna said.
On a recent day, armed fighters in military uniform roamed the castle grounds alongside local tourists, taking selfies among the ruins.
However, much of the castle remains in ruins.
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