In the refugee camp of Za?atari, at the borders of Jordan, Syrian painter Mahmoud Hariri and his artists imagine and sculpt miniatures of Syrian historical destroyed monuments, to never forget them. Some regions were ravaged by the conflicts that harm their country. To mention just a few historical places that they’ve rebuilt in tiny replicas : the Palmyre, Alepp city, Deir ez-Zor bridge and Mosquee Umayyad in Alep. In an interview for UN Refugee Agency, Mahmoud Hariri declares that “as artists, they must play an important memory role and that it’s in their duty to leave tracks of their architecture”.

Mahmoud Hariri, constructing a model of Palmyra with clay and wooden kebab skewers.

Ismail Hariri carving a monument out of a large volcanic stone found at camp. Ismail was an interior designer before being forced to flee to Jordan with his wife and children in 2013. He has contributed several sculptures to the project.
The Citadel of Aleppo, built in the 13th century, and located in one of the oldest cities in the world. Once a popular tourist site, it was then converted to a station used by combatants after fighting broke out in Syria in 2012. It has since been bombed several times.

A replica of the statue of Ayyubid Sultan Saladin, a military and political leader famous for leading the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the 12th century. It remains in the city of Damascus, which has not been as heavily damaged yet.

The Deir ez-Zo...