The historic city of Aleppo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world, lies in ruins today. The civil war in Syria, which has been raging for nearly five years now, has ravaged the entire country, killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aleppo is one of the worst hits with destruction that can only be described as catastrophic.

Where once stood Byzantine churches, ancient mosques and crusader fortresses, are now heaps of rubble. The minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo no longer stands, the walls of the Citadel of Aleppo are now lodged with bullet and artillery holes. The famous covered market of Al-Madina was raged to the ground by fire. Aleppo has become the symbol of the devastation wrought on Syria and its population.

The following photos comparing Aleppo’s various landmarks before and after the war started were published by the city-based Olympia Restaurant.

On its Facebook page, the Olympia Restaurant writes: “These 124 images show our beloved city, how it was, and how it is now after sabotage, destruction, looting and burning of the monuments, historical places, old houses, mosques, churches and the historical old markets (Souks) which are classified as Sites of World Heritage by UNESCO since 1986."

See the full album on Facebook.