Many cities were heavily damaged, but others emerged largely intact.
Some examples:
Damascus, the capital city of Syria, has little damage to speak of. Throughout the war, it remained under government control, apart from the suburbs. The city center, old city, etc. are fully intact, and the main areas of damage are the suburbs of Hajar al-Aswad, Yarmouk, and Ghouta.
Downtown Damascus
Bab Touma, Old City
Hajar al-Aswad, destroyed by ISIS
Yarmouk, destroyed by ISIS
Aleppo, the largest city in Syria before the war, was severely damaged. It was under siege for 4 years, and the eastern half of the city, which sustained most of the damage, was controlled by jihadists, who had a complete disregard for buildings and infrastructure.
Quarters damaged include Bab al-Nayrab, Helwania (Tariq al-Bab), and Jdayde.
The Old City of Aleppo was also the scene of intense fighting, with 30% or so having been reduced to rubble!
Jdayde, Old Aleppo, destroyed by Al-Nusra Front
Umayyad Mosque of Aleppo, blown up by al-Nusra
Tariq al-Bab, ruined by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
Zahraa, besieged by Ahrar al-Sham
Homs was liberated from jihadists in 2014, after having been besieged for 3 years. Part of the city remained in Syrian government control throughout the Seige of Homs, however, the northern and central districts of the city were the ones that came under jihadist control, and thus, they sustained the most damage.
The major areas of damage within Homs include the Old City, Dayr al-Baalba, al-Khalidiya, and Baba Amr.
Souq, Old Homs, destroyed by FSA Islamists
Dayr al-Baalba, flattened by the jihadist FSA
Al-Khalidiya, ruined by the FSA and al-Nusra Front
Baba Amr, destroyed by Al-Nusra
Hama was not decimated as Homs and Aleppo were, having remained mostly under government control for the duration of the war. However, many surrounding areas were jihadist-occupied, such as Mhardeh, Helfaya, and Murak.
Norias of Hama
Azem Palace
Helfaya, destroyed by al-Nusra Front
Murak, flattened by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Latakia, being on the Syrian coast, remained fully under government control for the duration of the war, as the coast itself was untouched by the war.
The entire city is fully intact, and there are even 2 million refugees from Idlib and Aleppo who fled there, as Latakia was not dangerous.
Latakia beach
Tetraporticus columns
National Museum of Latakia
Al-Zina Roundabout
Like Latakia, Tartus is on the Syrian coast, and thus, it remained entirely under government control for the whole war. There is no damage in Tartus, and there are even 800,000 IDPs there.
Ma’abed Temple
Tartus beach
Residential quarter of Tartus
Al-Hamidiyah, Tartus
Raqqa was severely damaged during the war, having been captured first by Ahrar al-Sham jihadists, and then by ISIS, and finally by the SDF. The damage across Raqqa is relatively uniform, as roughly 80% of Raqqa was leveled in the fighting.
A lot of the damage was the result of the US-backed SDF coalition’s offensive into Raqqa to liberate it from ISIS. However, ISIS is also responsible for much of the damage, having blown up several buildings during its’ horrifying reign of terror.
Uwais al-Qarni Mosque, blown up by ISIS
Old City of Raqqa, destroyed by ISIS and the US-led coalition
Armenian Catholic Church of Raqqa, destroyed by ISIS and al-Nusra
Al-Meghle Bridge, destroyed by the US-led coalition
Similar to Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor was damaged by ISIS, as it was besieged for almost 4 years straight. Some parts of the city are reasonably intact, having remained under government control the entire time, but ISIS temporarily gained a large presence in the city center, and they inflicted damages there. As well, the suburbs were an active SAA-ISIS frontline during the siege, so they were decimated as well.
Armenian Genocide Memorial Church, destroyed by al-Nusra fighters and ISIS
Al Ashara Bridge, destroyed by the US/SDF coalition
Christian cemetery of Deir ez-Zor, desecrated by ISIS
Al-Baghiliyah, destroyed by ISIS
Unlike Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, Qamishli was not particularly damaged by ISIS, with very little fighting having taken place there. Most of the city is intact, but there have been many explosions, clashes, etc. which have resulted in localized damage.
City center, Qamishli
Qamishli cemetery
Church of the Virgin Mary, hit by an explosion
2016 Qamishli bombings, carried out by ISIS
Similar to Qamishli, al-Hasakah was largely spared the continual bombardment of Deir ez-Zor, and remained mostly safe throughout the war, although an ISIS offensive in 2015 left parts of the city in ruins. Although there was an internal SAA-YPG battle in 2016, this one was not nearly as catastrophic, and al-Hasakah has remained peaceful since.
Syriac Orthodox Cathedral of al-Hasakah
Tal Hajjar neighbourhood
Al-Sahliya, destroyed by ISIS
Suicide bombing in al-Hasakah, responsibility claimed by ISIS
In conclusion, while parts of Syria were spared considerable destruction, others took the brunt of it. Hopefully, Syria will rebuild soon.
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