After ISIS militants seized control of Palmyra—the ancient Syrian city called the “Venice of the Sands”— last May, they immediately set out to destroy it.

Islamic State militants have destroyed Temple of Bel and other ancient landmarks in the Syrian city.

In 2009, architectural photographer Peter Aaron poignantly documented Syria's ancient landmarks before they were destroyed by war. An exhibition of Aaron's work is now on view at the Center for Architecture in New York, through July 13, 2019.