Its unclear why the "dead cities of Syria" were abandoned by their residents 1500 years ago. But as photographs and a CBS News report attest, these remnants of a prosperous society provide a grim refuge for thousands of Syrians fleeing civil war.
"The names of the cities are numerous: Jaradeh, Jabal Al Zawiya, Telanissos, Bara, Surkania, Dar Qita, Ruweiha, Surkania," writes RJ Evans. "All are silent witness to a civilization now vanished in to the footnotes of history. Their importance was, before the war, somewhat blithely underestimated by modern locals who still picked around them, occasionally planting small olive groves among the ruins.Youths would sometimes climb them as a dare - did you notice the two figures in the photograph above? Now, however, the ruins of this long forgotten civilization are all that protect many from the often ferocious shelling this area experiences."
Below is a CBS News report on the reuse of the ruins.
Read the full story: The Dead Cities of Syria: Ancient Abandoned Cities Now Repopulated by Refugees
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