BOSRA, Syria: Mobile phone in hand, student Abdelaziz Al-Aswad bounds up the steps of an UNESCO-listed Roman theater in southern Syria, elated that the heritage site has survived seven years of civil war.
The second-century theater stands tall in the ancient city of Bosra, which the United Nations cultural body designated as under threat after Syria’s conflict broke out.
Al-Aswad was among dozens to visit and take pictures of the theater under grey skies on Friday, as part of an organized trip to the area sanctioned by the tourism ministry.
“I traveled 700 kilometers (430 miles) from northern Syria to see the theater after hearing so much about it,” said the 23-year-old, who hails from the northern city of Aleppo.
Regime forces retook full control of the surrounding province of Daraa in July, for the first time in six years.
Rebels had overrun parts of Bosra in 2012, and then took it over completely in 2015.
“I thought I’d find it destroyed, but it seems to have survived this vicious war,” said Al-Aswad, dressed in a red hoody and matching headband, both bearing the words “I am Syrian.”
Dozens of visitors, including some armed with umbrellas to fend off drizzle, hiked up the dark stone steps of the semi-circular theater for a better view of the stage below.
Around them the ancient auditorium appeared largely unscathed, except for a hole blown into the steps, a small pit on the stage, and shell pockmarks on columns.
In ancient times, Bosra was the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, and an important stopover on the ancient caravan route to Makkah, UNESCO says.
The archaeological site — which was once a bustling city of some 80,000 people — also contains early Christian ruins and several mosques.
Khaled Nawaylati, one of the trip’s organizers, said he was overjoyed to find Bosra’s theater in one piece on his first visit in ten years.
“You can’t imagine my happiness after I saw the site was safe and sound,” he said.
According to Wafi Al-Dous, head of the local civil council, no more than five percent of the theater has been damaged.
Hundreds of archaeological sites have been destroyed, damaged or looted in Syria’s conflict, with all sides blamed for the pillaging.
Before the war, tourism was an essential source of foreign currency for Syria’s economy, second only to oil exports.
But after the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011 spiralled into civil war, the fighting kept foreign visitors at bay.
With clashes and bombardment raging across the country, internal tourism also plummeted.
“Internal tourism completely stopped in 2011, and visitors have since stayed away,” said Dous, who fled Bosra when the rebels fully overran it three years ago.
He has only recently returned, but with the government back in control, he is optimistic.
Restoration will soon get underway, Dous said, and a festival that once saw Lebanese singer Fairuz perform in the ancient city will be revived.
Syrians on the organized tour on Friday were delighted just to be able to visit a landmark of their country’s history.
In the middle of the Roman stage, 30-year-old Manal posed for a picture with her seven-month-old daughter after making the day trip with her husband from Damascus.
“We can’t travel outside Syria, so we’re starting to visit our own country again,” she said.
“There are so many beautiful places” to see, she added.
In southern Syria, Roman theater survives civil war intact
In southern Syria, Roman theater survives civil war intact
Living Pyramid to bloom beyond Desert X AlUla
ALULA: Desert X AlUla officially closed on Feb. 28, but one of its most striking installations — the Living Pyramid —will continue to flourish.
Tucked away within a lush oasis surrounded by ancient rock formations, Agnes Denes’ creation fuses art and nature, offering a living testament to resilience and connection.
Through her current rendition of The Living Pyramid for Desert X AlUla 2026, Denes seeks connection, likening it to bees constructing a new hive after disaster.
The pyramid structure is teeming with indigenous plants, forming layered patterns that echo the surrounding desert landscape.
It blends harmoniously with the rocky backdrop while proudly standing apart.
“There is no specific order for the plants other than not to place larger plants on the very top of the pyramid and increase the number of smaller plants up there,” Iwona Blazwick, lead curator at Wadi AlFann in AlUla, told Arab News.
Native plants cascading down the pyramid include Aerva javanica, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Lycium shawii, Moringa peregrina, Panicum turgidum, Pennisetum divisum, Periploca aphylla and Retama raetam.
Aromatic and flowering species such as Thymbra nabateorum, Rhanterium epapposum, wild mint, wild thyme, Portulaca oleracea, tamarisk shrubs, Achillea fragrantissima, Lavandula pubescens, Salvia rosmarinus, and Ruta graveolens form distinct layers, adding color, texture and subtle fragrance to the pyramid.
“Each Living Pyramid is different. The environment is different, the people are different. I’m very interested in the different societies that come together on something so simple,” Denes said in a statement.
“Connection is what’s important; connection is what the world needs. I keep comparing us to a lost beehive or an anthill. And I wrote a little poem: This. And this is. Bee cries out. Abandon the hive. Abandon the hive,” she said.
Denes was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1931 and is now based in New York. While the 95-year-old has not made it physically to the site in Saudi Arabia, she designed this structure to cater to the native plants of the area.
Her Living Pyramid series has certainly taken on reincarnations over the past decade.
It debuted at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York in 2015, was recreated in Germany in 2017, appeared in Türkiye in 2022, and then London in 2023.
In 2025, she showcased a version at Desert X 2025 in Palm Springs, California, and Luxembourg City.
Most recently, in 2026, at Desert X AlUla.
While officially part of Desert X AlUla, the Living Pyramid stands apart and is housed separately, a short drive away from the other art works.
“The (Living Pyramid) artwork will stay for around a year, to showcase a full year’s effect on the plants throughout the different seasons,” Blazwick said.
After the year is up, it won’t go down. The plants will continue its metamorphosis beyond the pyramid.
“The plants will be replanted and will have a new home within an environment that will suit their needs,” Blazwick concluded.
