Palmyra: The City in the Desert (Syria)
The Palmyra Heritage Preservation Project is a digital conservation project launched by izi.TRAVEL in close collaboration with the University or Amsterdam and the Zenobia Foundation. The project endeavours to raise an awareness about the modern threats that jeopardise the preservation of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and advocates for the digital safeguard of cultural heritage.
The digital conservation project takes the form of a self-guided city tour on the izi.TRAVEL platform and it can be experienced both online and via the app.
The project focuses specifically on the ancient city of Palmyra and its museum, which has been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2013.
In 2015, ISIS forces entered Palmyra and sacked the ancient city to finance their terror campaigns and blew up many of the ruins. A large part of the museum’s collection was moved to Damascus prior to the arrival of the ISIS forces, however, the larger and heavier artefacts were left and subsequently lost.
BRIEF: Edit and refine the english language script for the audio guide.
RESULT: The audio guide was released late spring 2016 and was the most played guide during the summer. The script has been subsequently translated in Russian and Mandarin. Audio guide is available online and on the app in English, Russian and Mandarin. izi.TRAVEL plans to increase the guide’s audience reach by translating it in the remaining 39 languages currently offered on its platform.
TASKS:
• Edit audio guide’s script.
• Determine the current or approximate state of all the POI on the city tour. ISIS forces blew up and pillaged various monuments and sites, which ultimately affects the script’s tense. If a monument or site was reported to be destroyed by ISIS then the script needed to be written in the past tense. If the monument or site was still standing then the script could be written in the present tense.
ADDITIONAL TASKS:
• Review script recording by v/o actor for audio guide.
• Deliver edited script to Russian and Mandarin Translator.
The images, presented above, originate from izi.TRAVEL’s website and app.