Life in ruins: ancient sites shelter Syria's displaced

Life in ruins: ancient sites shelter Syria's displaced

Advertisement

Mohamad Othman remembers going on school trips to ancient archaeological sites in Syria, never imagining one of them would become his home.

Othman and his family have been living in a tent amidst ancient ruins at Sarjableh near the Turkish border since fleeing for their lives some 2-1/2 years ago during a government offensive in northwestern Syria.

Rocks gathered from the site anchor down their tent, one of several dozen that are sheltering families who have fled their homes during the decade-long Syrian war.

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
Othman stands with his children beside their tent.

Their clothes hang to dry on two lines strung between the tent and an ancient stone portico. Their children clamber over the rocks and balance on walls in this unusual if dangerous playground.

"In the summer, we face scorpions, snakes and dust, and all the pressures of life, and in winter the cold. The situation is desperate. There are no health services," Othman, 30, said.

He said shelling forced them to flee their village near Maarat al-Numan, an area close to the frontline between government and rebel forces that has been pummelled in various bouts of conflict during Syria's decade-long conflict.

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
Louay Abu Al-Majd, 11, stands atop ruins in Babisqa.

A father of four, he struggles to make an income, depending on seasonal work such as olive picking and any other jobs he can pick up. When there is no work, he is forced to go into debt to provide the basics. His children do not go to school.

"When the last bombardment and attack began, we left to come to here," Othman said. "We did not find a place to take shelter, so we lived here among the ruins.".

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
Zahra Abu Khalifa, 28, cooks potatoes with her children in Babisqa.

The site, an early Christian settlement with ruins dating to the 5th century, has been popular with the displaced because they do not have to pay to stay there, unlike other areas where landowners charge rent

"Everyone here used to have land that we would farm and we had livelihoods in our villages and did not need anyone. But our fate was to be displaced," Othman said.

"We did not leave our land by our own free will to come to an area that has been uninhabited for thousands of years."

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
A flock of sheep stand in a pen in Babisqa.

There are some 2.8 million displaced people in northwestern Syria, with 1.7 million of them in sites for the internally displaced, the United Nations says.

Not far from Sarjableh, in another corner of the northwestern province of Idlib, the ancient site of Babisqa is also providing shelter for those bombed out of their homes.

In an earlier phase of the war, rebels used the site as a base, operating from ancients caves hewn from the rock where wiring installed the opposition fighters can still be seen.

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
A man rides a motorcycle through the archaeological site of Sarjableh.

Among the 80 or so families living at the site, it is known as 'Kharrab camp', or 'Ruins camp'.

Livestock farmers, they took their sheep and goats with them when they fled into rebel-held areas from territory now under Syrian government control. Today, sheep and goats feed amid the ancient stones, with poultry pecking on the ground.

Some people have used stones from the ruins to build their shelters, some of which are equipped with small solar panels propped up outside. An antennae strapped to the side of one of the homes provides internet.

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
A woman builds a wall for a sheep barn using ancient stone.

Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, a 35-year-old father of seven, stores family possessions and animal feed in an ancient cave hewn out of the rock. He keeps his sheep in a pen amidst the stones.

"Before being displaced, we had agricultural land and farmed crops and lived from them and everything was great and we had these animals," he said.

. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi
Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, eats a meal inside his family's tent.

Today "the children live in the ruins and mud," he said. "The situation is very desperate," he said.

"Our one demand is to return to our villages."

(Picture Editing Kezia Levitas; Writing Tom Perry; Text Editing Philippa Fletcher; Layout Kezia Levitas)

1 / 24

Slideshow

A child stands in the middle of ruins in Sarjableh.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A child stands in the middle of ruins in Sarjableh.

Aida al-Hassan, 44, poses for a photo in Sarjableh.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Aida al-Hassan, 44, poses for a photo in Sarjableh.

Othman throws his child up in the air.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Othman throws his child up in the air.

Baraa, 8, sits atop a ruin in Sarjableh.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Baraa, 8, sits atop a ruin in Sarjableh.

Abu Khalifa stands in front of his tent.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Abu Khalifa stands in front of his tent.

Mohamad Shiban, 7, sits against a sack of barley while Fatima Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, 4, stands in the doorway, inside a cave in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Mohamad Shiban, 7, sits against a sack of barley while Fatima Mahmoud Abu Khalifa, 4, stands in the doorway, inside a cave in Babisqa.

Khalid Abu Khalifa, 9, holds a pair of pigeons  in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Khalid Abu Khalifa, 9, holds a pair of pigeons in Babisqa.

A dog jumps over an ancient container used as its water bowl in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A dog jumps over an ancient container used as its water bowl in Babisqa.

Children climb amidst the ruins in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Children climb amidst the ruins in Babisqa.

Ahmad Shiban, 33, pours tea inside the room he built using stone from the ancient ruins of Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Ahmad Shiban, 33, pours tea inside the room he built using stone from the ancient ruins of Babisqa.

A backpack and a towel hang on a wall built from stone from the ruins of Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A backpack and a towel hang on a wall built from stone from the ruins of Babisqa.

Shiban sits atop an archaeological stone.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Shiban sits atop an archaeological stone.

Abu Khalifa stands inside a cave he uses to store his belongings and raise his sheep.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Abu Khalifa stands inside a cave he uses to store his belongings and raise his sheep.

Fatima Mahmoud Abu Khalifa sits on an ancient stone in front of a herd of sheep.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Fatima Mahmoud Abu Khalifa sits on an ancient stone in front of a herd of sheep.

A car decorated for a wedding drives through ruins in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A car decorated for a wedding drives through ruins in Babisqa.

A flock of sheep graze on grass in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A flock of sheep graze on grass in Babisqa.

Othman stands next to his tent in Sarjableh.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Othman stands next to his tent in Sarjableh.

A toilet built of ancient mud and stone in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A toilet built of ancient mud and stone in Babisqa.

A woman collects olive twigs for firewood in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A woman collects olive twigs for firewood in Babisqa.

Abeer abo Almajed, 10, sits front of her family's tent in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Abeer abo Almajed, 10, sits front of her family's tent in Babisqa.

Shiban plays alongside a sheep in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Shiban plays alongside a sheep in Babisqa.

Shiban stands at the entrance to a cave in Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Shiban stands at the entrance to a cave in Babisqa.

Ancient stones bearing a cross and other emblems are seen in Sarjableh.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Ancient stones bearing a cross and other emblems are seen in Sarjableh.

A girl sits atop ruins in the Babisqa.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

A girl sits atop ruins in the Babisqa.