Palmyra was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, according to UNESCO, which has described it as the crossroads of several civilisations. <br /> <br />Islamic State militants dynamited several monuments last year, including the temples of Baal Shamin and Bel, as well as funeral towers and a triumphal arch, which had stood for 1,800 years. <br /> <br />Syria's head of antiquities, Mamoun Abdelkarim, told that Palmyra's ancient temples and archway would be restored once the city had been recaptured from Islamic State militants.
