Syria May 2019 Drawings and paintings

In May 2019 I traveled to Damascus, the region of Qalamoun, the cities of Homs and Hama, the Medieval castles of Krak des Chevaliers and Qalaat Sheizar and to Palmyra. I made the trip by invitation of the Syrian Antiquities Service with the purpose to draw and paint the threatened cultural heritage of Syria.
This project was supported by a grant of the Mondrian Fund.

Damascus 01
Traffic in Port Saïdstreet, Damascus
(color)pencil 29,7 x 21 cm.

Damascus 02
Men playing card, smoking and drinking tea in Café Tannourrine in the old city of Damascus.
pencil 29,7 x 21 cm.

Damascus 03
Damascus Bab Sharki, Syriac Martyrs Garden
(color)pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Damascus 04
Damascus Bab Sharki, Syriac Martyrs Garden
gouache, 45 x 31 cm.

Damascus 05
Filming for the television series 'Al Halaaj' in Beit Khalid al 'Azem (the Museum of the City of Damascus)
pencil, 25 x 29,7 cm.

DamaSCUS 06
Damascus, at the Foreign Police Office for a visa extension
pencil 21 x 29,7 cm.

Damascus 07
Ra'id (left) and Amar (right), displaced persons from Raqqa and Yarmouk respectively. Amar lives with his family in one room of a hotel in Damascus for seven years now.
pencil 21 x 29,7 cm.

Damascus 08
View of Damascus towards Djebel Kassioun
gouache, 32,5 x 48 cm.

Damascus 09
At the cafetaria in the garden of the National Museum in Damascus. At the wall portraits of Bashar and the late Khaled al-Asaad, former director of the excavations in Palmyra.
pencil 21 x 29,7 cm.

Damascus 14
'The lion of Allat' from Palmyra, recently restored and placed in the garden of the National Museum of Damascus
gouache, 30,5 x 45,5 cm.

Damascus 10
Judi al-Jundi restoring Palmyra grave sculpture at the National Museum in Damascus
ball point and pencil, 15 x 15 cm.

Krak 01
Scaffolding in the heavily damaged court yard of the crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers
pencil and gouache 29,7 x 21 cm.

Mensen 05
Giath, director of the Beit Azem Museum for Popular Traditions in Hama, resting and smoking after iftar during Ramadan
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Mensen 07
Driver Mohammed at a terrace in Sednaya. He drove us through the Qalamoun region
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Maaloula 01
The demolished Safir Hotel on top of the canyon above Maaloula
pencil and gouache, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Mensen 04
Abdul, our driver in the desert of Palmyra, resting after iftar during Ramadan
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Tadmor 01
Barricade in the deserted, modern town of Tadmor (Palmyra)
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Tadmor 02
Only a few people are living in the deserted, modern town of Tadmor (Palmyra)
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Tadmor 03
Children playing between the plastic tanks for drinking water in the deserted, modern town of Tadmor (Palmyra)
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Tadmor 04
In the deserted, modern town of Tadmor (Palmyra)
29,7 x 21 cm.

Tadmor 05
'Palmyra Palace', a restaurant in the deserted, modern town of Tadmor (Palmyra). It is frequented by the soldiers of the Russian military base.
pencil and gouache, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Palmyra 10
Memorial in the entrance hall of the Palmyra Museum for Khaled al-Asaad, the former director of excavations, murdered by Islamic State in 2015
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Palmyra 02
Damaged statuary in one of the exhibition rooms in the Palmyra Museum
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 02
Damaged statuary in one of the exhibition rooms in the Palmyra Museum
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 01
The heap of stones of the temple of Baalshamin, blown up by Islamic State in 2015
gouache, 28 x 42 cm.

Palmyra 04
The damaged theatre in Palmyra
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 05
The heap of stones of the grave tower of Elahbel, blown up by Islamic State in 2015
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 13
The demolished triumphal arch in Palmyra
gouache, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 06
The ruin of the ruin of the temple of Bel in Palmyra
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 07
The ruin of the ruin of the temple of Bel in Palmyra
pencil, 21 x 29,7 cm.

Palmyra 11
The temple of Bel in Palmyra after the destruction by Islamic State
gouache, 27 x 44 cm.

Palmyra 08
The ruin of the ruin of the temple of Bel in Palmyra, an execution place
pencil, 29,7 x 21 cm.

Palmyra 12
The temple of Bel in Palmyra after the destruction by Islamic State
gouache, 29,5 x 44,5 cm.