>>> TODAY SYRIA IS SYNONYMOUS
WITH WAR, FAMINE AND REFUGEES.
IT RANKS LAST ON THE GLOBAL
PEACE INDEX MAKING IT THE MOST
VIOLENT COUNTRY ON EARTH, BUT
HISTORICALLY SYRIA HAS BEEN ONE
OF THE CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS
CENTERS OF EARTH AND HOME TO
SOME OF CIVILIZATIONS GREAT
ANTIQUITIES, MANY OF WHICH ARE
NOW THREATENED BY THE FANATICS
OF ISIS AND THE BOMBS OF A
RELENTLESS WAR.
IN OUR SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT NBC'S
KELLY COBIELLA TAKES US ON A
STUNNING TRIP TO SYRIA TO MEET
SOME OF THE BRAVE PEOPLE THERE
AND HERE IN THE UNITED STATES
TRYING TO SAVE THE COUNTRY'S
HISTORY.
>> Reporter: DAMASCUS, THE
WORLD'S OLDEST CITY.
HOME TO SOME OF ITS MOST
PRECIOUS HISTORICAL SITES.
THE GRAND MOSQUE, ONCE A TEMPLE
TO THE GOD JUPITER, SHOWS ITS
ROMAN ROOTS.
LEGEND SAYS THE REMAINS OF ST.
JOHN THE BAPTIST ARE BURIED HERE
IN WHAT WAS ONCE A CATHEDRAL.
THESE SITES REMARKABLY UNTOUCHED
BY WAR BUT ALL AROUND THIS
REGION ANCIENT CITIES AND
MONUMENTS ARE UNDER THREAT LIKE
NEVER BEFORE.
WE TRAVELED OUTSIDE DAMASCUS TO
PALMIERA, AN ANCIENT ECONOMIC
POWERHOUSE WHERE TRADERS FROM
THE EAST AND WEST WOULD MEET,
ARABS, GREEKS, PERSIANS,
CHRISTIANS, JEWS, ROMANS AND
PAGANS.
THIS WAS PALME RIA, THIS IS HOW
IT LOOKS TODAY.
THEY MADE HEADLINES IN 2015 WHEN
ISIS INVADED, KILLING LOCALS,
DESTROYING ITS HERITAGE.
THE MUSEUM CURATOR SAID HE
MANAGED TO ESCAPE WITH SOME OF
THE PIECES BUT HIS FATHER WHO
DEDICATED HIS LIFE STAYED.
HIS GLASSES ARE ALL THAT REMAIN,
HIS SON TOLD ME.
ISIS KILLED HIM.
HIS BODY DISAPPEARED.
THE DAMAGE TO THE CITY HE LOVED
WAS MONUMENTAL.
ANCIENT ARCHES TOPPLED.
THE SITES MOST FAMOUS TEMPLE
BLOWN UP.
THIS IS WHAT THE TEMPLE OF BELL
USED TO LOOK LIKE AND THAT'S THE
TEMPLE NOW.
ONLY THE ARCH IS STILL STANDING.
AND IT'S NOT JUST HERE.
THERE ARE SIMILAR SCENES ACROSS
THE REGION.
IN YEMEN THE 11th CENTURY OLD
CITY OF SANA'A BOMBED.
IN IRAQ 3,000-YEAR-OLD FREEZES
AND SCULPTURES GONE.
AFGHANISTAN AREA, BLOWN UP BY
THE TALIBAN.
UNESCO LISTS 50 SITES IN DANGER
AROUND THE WORLD, ALL SIX IN
SYRIA.
3,000 MILES IN PORTLAND, OHIO, A
HISTORY PROFESSOR HEARD A CRY
FOR HELP.
>> THIS DAMAGE WAS JUST ONGOING
AND RELENTLESS AND THESE
COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, LOCAL
PEOPLE FROM THEIR OWN
COMMUNITIES WERE REACHING OUT TO
ANYBODY WHO WOULD BE ABLE TO
ANSWER THEM AND SAY, HEY, LOOK,
WHAT CAN I DO TO STEP IN.
>> Reporter: A SYRIAN OPPOSITION
ACTIVIST STARTED A GROUP CALLED
THE DAY AFTER WHOSE WORK ADVISES
PEOPLE IN WAR ZONES HOW TO SAVE
ANCIENT TREASURES FROM BOMBS.
AT THIS MUSEUM IN IDLIB SYRIA
THEY'VE SAVED EARLY CHRISTIAN
MOSAICS FROM THREE BOMBING
RAIDS, USING NOTHING MORE THAN
SAND BAGS.
THE GUYS ARE GOING OUT RISKING
THEIR LIVES ALMOST EVERY DAY.
>> THE GROUP IS CURRENTLY
OVERSEEING TEN PROJECTS.
THE HOPE THAT THROUGH SMALL
GRASSROOTS EFFORTS THE WORLD'S
CULTURAL HERITAGE CAN BE
PROTECTED FROM PALMERIA'S FATE
UNTIL THE BOMBS STOP FALLING.
>> ALL OF THESE ARE PART OF A
MUCH WIDER, MUCH GREATER HISTORY