PALMYRA - In March of this year, the Syrian army retook Palmyra, once dubbed the “Bride of the Desert,” ending nearly a year of occupation and destruction by the Islamic State.That year resulted in the destruction of some of the ancient city’s most precious sites, including its triumphal arch, temples, tower tombs, and the artifacts once displayed in its museum. Islamic State militants bombed most of the major sites, and used the city’s theater to carry out public executions of its opponents, including, in August of last year, the beheading of Khaled Al-Asaad, the 82-year-old retired antiquities chief at Palmyra.
