Palmyra in Syria opened for the first time its doors to archaeologists and journalists. A Greek journalist from MEGA channel, Thanasis Avgerinos, was there for the first time, right after the mines were removed, in order to cover the concert that took place in the ruinsĀ of the ancient city, directed by the internationally known conductor Valery Gergiev.
The title of the concert “With a Prayer from Palmyra: Music Revives the Ancient Walls.” Thanasis Avgerinos, says that one of the most staggering moments of the concert, was when several children with flowers in the ruins, offered holy bread to the Russian musicians, as a gesture of giving something from their culture. The children sang folklore Arabic songs and won the applause of everyone, including the musicians, among which several teared up, Avgerinos says.
“Intense and mixed feelings started to build up when I realized that the path that we had to cross from Lattakia to Palmyra would be over seven hours. And that, because all this big crowd of visitors, UNESCO ambassadors, archaeologists, musicians and journalists from all over the world would be accompanied by at least four armored vehicles with full equipment,” Avgerinos says. “A short guy, who told us that he is half Russian half Syrian and how he experienced up close everything that happened during the nine months of the ISIS occupation in Palmyra, the silent resistance of the civilian who lived in the nearby area and how they helped in any way possible in the violent battles for the liberation of the city that happened in March,” he added.
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