Palmyra is pretty far ‘out there’: on the 3-hour drive from Damascus, the only thing we saw was desert. It still needs a special permit to access (I visited in September 2025), but once you’re at the archaeological site itself, there is nothing: I guess it is “under control” of the Ministry of Tourism somehow, but there is no oversight, no tickets are being sold, etc. Five Bedouin men await the daily trickle of tourists with camel rides and souvenirs to sell. They are quite desperate and will follow you around.

It's a huge site, ruins everywhere. We spent 2.5 hours there, and although I made it to 12,000 steps, we did not see it all. We arrived around 9 a.m. to beat the scorching heat in this area, but at 11.30 the sun was so fierce that I retired to the shade inside the bus. And there were few other tourists, of course, only some Syrian daytrippers from Damascus. It was like having the Acropolis all to yourself.

The Temple of Baal used to be one of Palmyra’s main highlights. It lies uphill from the main residential area. Its outer walls were converted into a citadel in Arab times and that has survived pretty well. But inside, now only one lonely arch can be seen, plus a huge pile of rubble where the Temple once stood. Even if you, like me, have never been here before and you don’t really know what you’re missing, the devastation is shocking. It was blown up by ISIS during the first of their two stints here. They occupied this region and the site in 2015 and 2016. The only thing you can do now is walk through the rubble and see if you can still see something of interest. I found a few building blocks with pretty reliefs.

There seem to be no plans to piece the Temple together again; of course, it would be a hugely costly and painstaking job, but to my untrained eye, it must be possible since the parts are still there.

Another painful loss is the Tetrapylon, the monument that stood at the crossing of the two roads at the center of the residential zone. Here, the columns have fallen like dead trees. This area is dotted with the usual public monuments of a Roman city, such as a small theatre. The main roads are aligned by the famous ‘Great Colonnade’, but the row is far from complete nowadays.

In general, I would conclude that the site remains impressive, with its vastness and numerous tall columns still on display. Still, the cherry on the cake, which is what made it outstanding beyond other Greco-Roman sites, is lacking due to the acts of ISIS.

The site of Palmyra is also known for its funerary art. Unfortunately, the tombs around the site cannot be visited now, but in the National Museum in Damascus, they have preserved a fully intact version of one of them, which should not be missed (it is in the basement). The Hypogeum of Yarhai is ornately decorated with images of the extended Yarhai family, who were buried here in a mass grave. All family members are shown in a portrait sculpture from when they were 30 years old.