Bassel Khartabil Begins Documenting Palmyra

01 June 2005

Photography and 3D work with Al-Aous Publishers

Archive note (2026): This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records during the site modernization.

Bassel Khartabil began photographing and modeling the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria in 2005, working with Al-Aous Publishers on an effort to document and digitally reconstruct Syrian heritage.

That early work — photographs, research, and the first 3D experiments — is the foundation of what later became NEWPALMYRA. The original source files from this period were lost after Bassel's arrest in 2012, but the mission he started continues through community re-creation and open publishing today.

Learn more on the History page and in the Al-Aous Publishers community project archive.

Date	01 Jun 2005
Title	Bassel Khartabil Begins Documenting Palmyra