THE SACRED GAY MARTYRS OF IRAN

IRAN publicly executed two teenage boys on July 19th, 2005, in the city of Mashad.

Their names were Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, one 18 and the other 17 or 16 years old.

They were accused of raping a 13-year-old boy, but it has been established that the authorities invented the charge of rape in order to prevent public sympathy for the true reason for their execution, that they were Homosexuals.

After their arrest the two boys endured a year of imprisonment and  torture before the high court of Iran upheld their sentence and their  execution by hanging was carried out in a public square in the city of Mashad.

International outrage was met with arrogance and impunity by the religious and conservative Iranian government, and a systematic persecution soon began against homosexuals, which has led to an unabated spate of sporadic executions over the years, and untold numbers of arrests and torture.

These events indicate that the worldwide struggle for Gay Freedom has not decreased but has become more violent and inhumane.

The photo at left is a shocking depiction of anti-homosexual violence.

For their suffering, we proclaim Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni and all of the unnamed gay victims of Iranian persecution, Saints and Innocent Martyrs of the Religion of Antinous.

May all those who see this image of violence rise up for the cause of Gay Freedom, and remember those who suffer in Iran.

THE SACRED GAY MARTYRS OF IRAN

IRAN publicly executed two teenage boys on July 19th, 2005, in the city of Mashad.

Their names were Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, one 18 and the other 17 or 16 years old.

They were accused of raping a 13-year-old boy, but it has been established that the authorities invented the charge of rape in order to prevent public sympathy for the true reason for their execution, that they were Homosexuals.

After their arrest the two boys endured a year of imprisonment and  torture before the high court of Iran upheld their sentence and their  execution by hanging was carried out in a public square in the city of Mashad.

International outrage was met with arrogance and impunity by the religious and conservative Iranian government, and a systematic persecution soon began against homosexuals, which has led to an unabated spate of sporadic executions over the years, and untold numbers of arrests and torture.

These events indicate that the worldwide struggle for Gay Freedom has not decreased but has become more violent and inhumane.

The photo at left is a shocking depiction of anti-homosexual violence.

For their suffering, we proclaim Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni and all of the unnamed gay victims of Iranian persecution, Saints and Innocent Martyrs of the Religion of Antinous.

May all those who see this image of violence rise up for the cause of Gay Freedom, and remember those who suffer in Iran.

DOCUMENTARY FILM HIGHLIGHTS PALMYRA SEEN BY ANTINOUS AND HADRIAN

Antinous visited the fabled city of Palmyra with Hadrian the ruins of which were destroyed in recent months by DAESH Islamic State barbarians.

Now a stunning French documentary film recreates the once-fabulous "Garden City of the Sands" and its destruction ... and efforts to rebuilt the ruins.

The documentary is being shown today on the Franco-German cultural television channel ARTE and can be streamed for viewing.

Only a few months ago DAESH barbarians blasted the Palmyra amphitheater and had destroyed the tetrapylon, a cubic-shaped ancient Roman monument. 

These satellite images by the Boston-based ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiative and taken by satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe displayed the destruction.

Meanwhile, DAESH goons also summarily executed civilians in the embattled city. Since sweeping to power across Iraq and Syria, Isil systematically erased signs of their pluralistic histories. Palmyra has been a particularly egregious target of their hatred.

Palmyra was called the "Garden City of the Sands" and scientists say it was TERRA-FARMED to create a lush green oasis of life and civilization in the midst of the desert.

Islamic State fighters destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

In 2015, DAESH destroyed the PALMYRA TRIUMPHAL ARCH through which Hadrian and Antinous strode.

DAESH meanwhile blew up the BAALSHAMIN Temple in Palmyra. The photo at right shows how impressive even its ruins were prior to its being blown to bits by DAESH.

The photo at left shows all that is left of the Triumphal Arch now. 

The ruins are a testament to the barbaric nature of DAESH renegades.

We know Antinous & Hadrian saw it because Hadrian decreed a vast expansion of the temple.

During the DAESH occupation of Palmyra, KHALED ASSAD, an 81-year-old antiquities scholar who devoted his life to understanding Palmyra, was beheaded by DAESH militants, his bloodied body hung on a pole. He had even named his daughter after Zenobia, the queen that ruled from the city 1,700 years ago.

DAESH claims ancient relics promote idolatry and say they are destroying them as part of their purge of paganism. However, they are also believed to sell off looted antiquities, bringing in significant sums of cash.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has been told that DAESH militants have killed 30 suspected gay men for "sodomy" in recent months.

DAESH released a video showing CHILDREN STONING two gay men to death after they had been thrown off a building in Homs Syria. It is one of a grisly series of such gay execution videos. 

A year ago, DAESH released a video showing two other men accused of being gay THROWN OFF A BUILDING and then stoned by a crowd in Palmyra.

Only a few weeks earlier, more than 25 men were EXECUTED BY CHILDREN at the famous theater in Palmyra.

THE SACRED GAY MARTYRS OF IRAN

IRAN publicly executed two teenage boys on July 19th, 2005, in the city of Mashad.

Their names were Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, one 18 and the other 17 or 16 years old.

They were accused of raping a 13-year-old boy, but it has been established that the authorities invented the charge of rape in order to prevent public sympathy for the true reason for their execution, that they were Homosexuals.

After their arrest the two boys endured a year of imprisonment and  torture before the high court of Iran upheld their sentence and their  execution by hanging was carried out in a public square in the city of Mashad.

International outrage was met with arrogance and impunity by the religious and conservative Iranian government, and a systematic persecution soon began against homosexuals, which has led to an unabated spate of sporadic executions over the years, and untold numbers of arrests and torture.

These events indicate that the worldwide struggle for Gay Freedom has not decreased but has become more violent and inhumane.

The photo at left is a shocking depiction of anti-homosexual violence.

For their suffering, we proclaim Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni and all of the unnamed gay victims of Iranian persecution, Saints and Innocent Martyrs of the Religion of Antinous.

May all those who see this image of violence rise up for the cause of Gay Freedom, and remember those who suffer in Iran.

HUSBAND OF SLAIN GAY POLICEMAN SAYS 'I'M SUFFERING WITHOUT HATE'

LAST week, gay French police officer Xavier Jugelé laid down his life when an Islamic extremist opened fire on Paris' Champs Elysees. 

At a memorial ceremony, Jugele’s husband, Etienne Cardiles, paid loving tribute to his late partner.

"This pain makes me feel closer to your comrades who suffer in silence like you and me," Cardiles said, holding back tears. He described Jugele as a man who lived "a life of joy and huge smiles."

"I have no hatred, Xavier, because it is not like you and does not fit with what made your heart beat," he added. "Nor what made you a guardian of the peace."

A spokesperson for the French association of LGBT police officers described Jugelé as "a simple man who loved his job, and he was really committed to the LGBT cause."

"He was aware of the risks of the job and the terrorist threat," said Mickaël Bucheron, "although we did not speak a lot about it."

Jugelé, 37, grew up in Romorantin-Lanthenay in central France and was in a civil union with Cardiles. 

He had been among the first responders when DAESH Islamic State terrorists attacked Paris' Bataclan theater in 2015, and was actually preparing to leave the Paris gendarmes to join the Judicial Police, which pursues suspects and serves search warrants, among other duties.

After his death, flags at police stations across France flew at half-mast, and President Francois Hollande made him a posthumous knight of the Legion d’Honneur.

The memorial event was attended by major French dignitaries including French President Hollande and candidates Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron. Le Pen is the leader of the far-right National Front party, and has promised to repeal France’s same-sex marriage law.

ARCH THROUGH WHICH ANTINOUS STRODE RECREATED IN NEW YORK CITY

AS diplomats from around the world converge on New York today for the United Nations General Assembly, a work of ancient Roman architecture from the Syrian site of Palmyra has risen in replica in City Hall Park. 

It replicates an icon of the ancient city that was destroyed by ISIS, and symbolizes a call for global efforts to preserve cultural heritage.

The Institute for Digital Archeology (IDA), which resides at the University of Oxford, erected the arch, which stands about 25 feet tall and weighs nearly 30,000 pounds. 

It was made from Egyptian marble by craftsmen in Italy.

Earlier this year the two-thirds scale replica was erected in  TRAFALGAR SQUARE in London and also stood in Dubai.

The 2,000-year-old arch was all that remained of the Temple of Bel, part of the Syrian Unesco World Heritage site, captured by militants in May.

It was recreated from photographs, using a 3D printer.

It was crafted from carrara marble and then shipped in pieces to London.

The institute behind the project hopes the arch will draw attention to the importance of cultural heritage.

DAESH militants have ransacked and demolished several similar ancient sites to Palmyra that pre-date Islam in Iraq, denouncing them as symbols of "idolatry".

Alexy Karenowska, from the Institute of Digital Archaeology, which is behind the project, says she hopes it will help people understand how important it is to preserve cultural sites in war-torn countries such as Syria.

She says: "People say, 'should we be worrying about this stuff when human lives are being lost?'

"Of course all of this stuff takes second place to human life, but these cultural objects are very important to give a sense of place and community."

When Antinous saw Palmyra in ancient times, this arch was the formal entryway into the oasis city which was one of the most wondrous marvels of Ancient Syria.

He arrived with Hadrian to be initiated into Mithras Mysteries 1,900 years ago and most certainly entered the city through this arch.

Palmyra was called the "Garden City of the Sands" and scientists say it was TERRA-FARMED to create a lush green oasis of life and civilization in the midst of the desert.

PALMYRA WAS "TERRA-FARMED" WHEN HADRIAN AND ANTINOUS VISITED

PALMYRA is in the headlines as the sad target of destruction by vile and hated DAESH barbarians.

Antinous and Hadrian visited the fabled "city of the desert" Palmyra during their three-year tour of the Eastern Empire.

But when they were there 1,800 years ago ingenious "terra-farming" kept the desert at bay, according to new findings.

For centuries, experts have been somewhat bewildered as to how this city could have achieved wealth and prosperity in the middle of a desert.

In the 3rd Century AD, Palmyra was so prosperous, that its queen Zenobia launched a revolt against Rome. She conquered Egypt before being defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor Aurelian.

The painting above is entitled "Queen Zenobia's Last Look Upon Palmyra" by Herbert Schmalz.

According to a new study, Palmyra was a miracle of human ingenuity and "terra-farming" which could serve as a model for water-thirsty urban areas today such as Phoenix, Arizona. Palmyra was surrounded by a number of villages that fed the city and together they harnessed rain water resources necessary for survival.

"The archaeologists gathered evidence that residents of ancient Palmyra and the nearby villages collected the rainwater using dams and cisterns. This gave the surrounding villages water for crops and enabled them to provide the city with food. The collection system ensured a stable supply of agricultural products and averted catastrophe during droughts," according to findings by Norwegian researchers.

Archaeologists from the University of Bergen in Norway and the Palmyra Museum mapped a large expanse of land around the city of Palmyra with the help of satellite photos and to their surprise, a large number of remains of villages from ancient Roman times were detected to the north of the ruined city. Remains of 2,000-year-old water reservoirs were also found.

"We were able to form a more complete picture of what occurred within the larger area," project manager Jørgen Christian Meyer, a professor at the University of Bergen, said, adding, "These findings provide a wealth of new insight into Palmyra’s history."

Once a flourishing city, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and a part of the Roman Empire, Palmyra was an oasis for travellers in the Syrian Desert, northeast of modern-day Damascus.

The city was first mentioned in the archives of Mari in the second millennium BC, The Roman Empire took over Palmyra in the middle of the 1st Century AD as part of the Roman province of Syria, according to UNESCO, which declared the Palmyra ruins to be on the World Heritage List in 1980.

"It grew steadily in importance as a city on the trade route linking Persia, India and China with the Roman Empire, marking the crossroads of several civilisations in the ancient world," UNESCO says about Palmyra on its official Website.

Despite its location in a semi-arid region, Palmyra became a thriving and prosperous city about 2,000 years ago by cultivating the desert soil and using rain water, something human beings of today could learn from and do even better, with all the available modern aids and methods, to feed many and bring about sustainable development.

Palmyra is still at a crossroads of history, and fighting between Syrian government forces, DAESH criminals and insurgents has damaged ruins at the ancient site.

Antinous and Hadrian visited Palmyra on their fateful tour of the Eastern Empire. 

FLAMEN ANTONYUS SUBIA writes:

"The inner circle of Hadrian's court, with a light escort, visited Palmyra in what is now Eastern Syria, near the northern Iraqi border. Palymra was an ancient buffer state between the Roman and the Persia Empires, which had now been at peace for many years. 
"Palmyra was therefore a mixture of both cultures, with its own, ancient Assyrian and Hittite blood beneath the surface. 
"According to Marguerite Yourcenar, Antinous was initiated into the Cult of Mithras while at Palmyra to the displeasure of Hadrian who was already an initiate, and perhaps an influential leader of the secret cult because of his position as Pontifex Maximus. 
"Coming after the Zoroastrian sanctification in Armenia, and given the Phrygian aspect of the Mithraic cult, and the proximity to the Persian border, and the end of the transition from the Age of Taurus to the Age of Aries, which the cult revealed, we celebrate the initiation of Antinous into the mysteries of Mithras and their cosmic revelation."

BERLIN OPENS FIRST SHELTER FOR GAY AND TRANS SYRIAN REFUGEES

A shelter has been opened in Berlin to house LGBTIQ refugees from Syria who face homophobic abuse at other refugee centers.

It will house 122 refugees ... which organizers admit is a small number ... but a vital step towards providing much-needed help to gay and trans refugees.

In some cases, refugees whose sexuality is not demonstrably straight are attacked, sexually groped and physically abused by homophobic refugees.

Germany has had an influx of one million refugees from war-torn Syria and the Mideast over the past 12 months and an undetermined number of those refugees are LGBTIQ asylum seekers fleeing persecution and death in their homelands.

Organizations in Germany earlier ISSUED AN APPEAL for Germans to open their homes to gay Syrian refugees who face discrimination from other refugees ... and death threats from radical Islamic militants.

Gay Syrians arriving at refugee camps in Germany say they have been subjected to verbal and even physical attacks from other refugees during the long trek from their war-torn homeland.

While the news cameras focus on families with small children, most of the refugees are in fact young adult males ... and between 5 and 10 per cent are gay or bisexual, according to German LGBT groups reaching out to gay refugees.

In Syria, they faced the threat of death at the hands of DAESH Islamic State barbarians who have executed scores of gay men ... throwing them from tall buildings and stoning them to death if they survive the fall.

At least 26 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED because DAESH suspected they were gay, but that number is difficult to confirm and potentially much higher.

But even after they arrive safely in Germany, gays and lesbians are the victims of homophobia, according to German LGBT groups.

German television reported Thursday that DAESH militants have infiltrated some refugee camps.

"They shout Koran verses all night and scream that they will kill anyone who stands in their way," a Syrian refugee told ARD television. "A friend of mine was beheaded in Syria, so I am scared out of my wits."

Even less militant refugees are hostile towards LGBT refugees in their midst.

"Right now we are handling the case of a man who is in a refugee camp in Magdeburg in eastern Germany who says he fears for his life," says Mathias Fangohr, head of the Magdeburg Pride Organization.

"He is terrified that if other camp residents find out he is gay he will end up dead," Fangohr says. 

"He is totally traumatized from the ordeal he has gone through and is desperate for help," he adds.

The situation is compounded by the fact that many of the support groups are homophobic.

"We have trouble finding Arabic interpreters because many of them refuse to interpret for gays, whom they consider to be filth," he adds. "They won't even mention the word for homosexual in Arabic because it is dirty."

A Berlin group has issued an appeal for gays in the German capital to open their homes to LGBT refugees so that they can avoid homophobic taunts and humiliation at refugee camps.

The group has also launched a program for teaching LGBT refugees language skills and job skills to help them get on their feet in Germany.

With a falling birth rate and declining population, Germany has welcomed the refugees not only on humanitarian grounds ... but also as a boost to immigration.

BERLIN OPENS SHELTER FOR LGBT REFUGEES FACING ABUSE FROM HOMOPHOBE REFUGEES

THE city of Berlin is opening a shelter for LGBTIQ asylum seekers who face verbal and physical attack from homophobic refugees at other shelters.

Between 100 and 120 gay, lesbian and transgender refugees will be given accommodations at the shelter, the location of which is being kept a secret for now pending signing of a lease and to avert protests from neighboring property owners.

Berlin has an estimated 3,500 GLBT refugees, according to Marcel de Groot of the Berlin Gay Counseling Center. 

"We are convinced that this shelter is vitally needed," he says. 

Currently, identifiably gay refugees are housed in a refugee center for people such as single mothers who have special needs and who should not be grouped together in dormitories with men.

Gay groups have registered complaints from GLBT refugees of verbal and physical abuse not only from other refugees, but also from security personnel and interpreters at the shelters.

Germany has taken in more refugees than any other European country since the mass exodus of people fleeing war-torn Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries began.

More than a million refugees flooded into Germany in 2015.

Berlin is the first city to designate a shelter for gays only, but other regions are expected to follow.

Gay university students in Leipzig announced plans last week to provide shelter to GLBT refugees. Leipzig is a city where Nazi thugs have staged weekly torchlight processions to protest against the influx of "swarthy swine" as they call refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn regions.

Spearheading the campaign is Leipzig University journalism student Tarek Hassan.

The Queer Refugees Network in Leipzig aims to provide support for gay and trans refugees who suffer abuse at the hands of other asylum seekers at refugee centers in Germany.

In some cases, refugees whose sexuality is not demonstrably straight are attacked, sexually groped and physically abused by homophobic refugees.

"The refugee center staff are ill prepared for these situations and often play down their significance, which only makes matters worse," says Tarek.

The Queer Refugees Network helps raise the consciousness of center staffers to the problems, and also helps to find off-site housing for gay refugees.

"But our first objective is to offer an ear and a shoulder to cry on for LGBTIQ refugees who find themselves in a strange land," Tarek explains.

Germany has had an influx of one million refugees from war-torn Syria and the Mideast over the past 12 months and an undetermined number of those refugees are LGBTIQ asylum seekers fleeing persecution and death in their homelands.

Organizations in Germany have ISSUED AN APPEAL for Germans to open their homes to gay Syrian refugees who face discrimination from other refugees ... and death threats from radical Islamic militants.

Gay Syrians arriving at refugee camps in Germany say they have been subjected to verbal and even physical attacks from other refugees during the long trek from their war-torn homeland.

While the news cameras focus on families with small children, most of the refugees are in fact young adult males ... and between 5 and 10 per cent are gay or bisexual, according to German LGBT groups reaching out to gay refugees.

In Syria, they faced the threat of death by DAESH Islamic State barbarians who have executed scores of gay men ... throwing them from tall buildings and stoning them to death if they survive the fall.

But even after they arrive safely in Germany, gays and lesbians are the victims of homophobia, according to German LGBT groups.

German television reports that DAESH militants have infiltrated some refugee camps.

"They shout Koran verses all night and scream that they will kill anyone who stands in their way," a Syrian refugee told ARD television. "A friend of mine was beheaded in Syria, so I am scared out of my wits."

Even less militant refugees are hostile towards LGBT refugees in their midst.

"Right now we are handling the case of a man who is in a refugee camp in Magdeburg in eastern Germany who says he fears for his life," says Mathias Fangohr, head of the Magdeburg Pride Organization.

"He is terrified that if other camp residents find out he is gay he will end up dead," Fangohr says. 

"He is totally traumatized from the ordeal he has gone through and is desperate for help," he adds.

The situation is compounded by the fact that many of the support groups are homophobic.

"We have trouble finding Arabic interpreters because many of them refuse to interpret for gays, whom they consider to be filth," he adds. "They won't even mention the word for homosexual in Arabic because it is dirty."

A Berlin group has issued an appeal for gays in the German capital to open their homes to LGBT refugees so that they can avoid homophobic taunts and humiliation at refugee camps.

The group has also launched a program for teaching LGBT refugees language skills and job skills to help them get on their feet in Germany.

With a falling birth rate and declining population, Germany has welcomed the refugees not only on humanitarian grounds ... but also as a boost to immigration.

ANOTHER GAY THROWN TO HIS DEATH AS LGBT REFUGEES SEEK SHELTER

DAESH Islamic State thugs have thrown another gay man to his death in front of a crowd, even as refugees arriving in Germany complain of attacks from homophobic asylum seekers.

The man was executed in the Iraqi city of Rawa after being accused of engaging in homosexual acts.

As the victim was escorted to the top of a tall building by three men, a crowd congregated below. The victim's hands and feet were then bound and he was pushed off the edge of the roof.

Images capturing the execution were posted this weekend by the "ISIS Media office of Euphrates Province."

One caption read: "The execution, as sentenced by God, of the people of Lut in the city of Rawa." Another caption read "Please don't forget to pray for us."

This is at least the 17th man thrown off a rooftop for being gay. Another six were stoned to death, and three were executed by being shot in the head.

At least 26 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN MURDERED because DAESH suspected they were gay, but that number is difficult to confirm and potentially much higher.

Meanwhile, a group of LGBTIQ university students in Germany have joined forces with gay refugees to counter verbal and physical attack from homophobic refugees.

Leipzig has also been the city where Nazi thugs have staged weekly torchlight processions to protest against the influx of "swarthy swine" as they call refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and other war-torn regions.

Spearheading the campaign is Leipzig University journalism student Tarek Hassan.

The Queer Refugees Network in Leipzig aims to provide support for gay and trans refugees who suffer abuse at the hands of other asylum seekers at refugee centers in Germany.

In some cases, refugees whose sexuality is not demonstrably straight are attacked, sexually groped and physically abused by homophobic refugees.

"The refugee center staff are ill prepared for these situations and often play down their significance, which only makes matters worse," says Tarek.

The Queer Refugees Network helps raise the consciousness of center staffers to the problems, and also helps to find off-site housing for gay refugees.

"But our first objective is to offer an ear and a shoulder to cry on for LGBTIQ refugees who find themselves in a strange land," Tarek explains.

Germany has had an influx of one million refugees from war-torn Syria and the Mideast over the past 12 months and an undetermined number of those refugees are LGBTIQ asylum seekers fleeing persecution and death in their homelands.

Organizations in Germany have ISSUED AN APPEAL for Germans to open their homes to gay Syrian refugees who face discrimination from other refugees ... and death threats from radical Islamic militants.

Gay Syrians arriving at refugee camps in Germany say they have been subjected to verbal and even physical attacks from other refugees during the long trek from their war-torn homeland.

While the news cameras focus on families with small children, most of the refugees are in fact young adult males ... and between 5 and 10 per cent are gay or bisexual, according to German LGBT groups reaching out to gay refugees.

In Syria, they faced the threat of death at the hands of DAESH Islamic State barbarians who have executed scores of gay men ... throwing them from tall buildings and stoning them to death if they survive the fall.

But even after they arrive safely in Germany, gays and lesbians are the victims of homophobia, according to German LGBT groups.

German television reported Thursday that DAESH militants have infiltrated some refugee camps.

"They shout Koran verses all night and scream that they will kill anyone who stands in their way," a Syrian refugee told ARD television. "A friend of mine was beheaded in Syria, so I am scared out of my wits."

Even less militant refugees are hostile towards LGBT refugees in their midst.

"Right now we are handling the case of a man who is in a refugee camp in Magdeburg in eastern Germany who says he fears for his life," says Mathias Fangohr, head of the Magdeburg Pride Organization.

"He is terrified that if other camp residents find out he is gay he will end up dead," Fangohr says. 

"He is totally traumatized from the ordeal he has gone through and is desperate for help," he adds.

The situation is compounded by the fact that many of the support groups are homophobic.

"We have trouble finding Arabic interpreters because many of them refuse to interpret for gays, whom they consider to be filth," he adds. "They won't even mention the word for homosexual in Arabic because it is dirty."

A Berlin group has issued an appeal for gays in the German capital to open their homes to LGBT refugees so that they can avoid homophobic taunts and humiliation at refugee camps.

The group has also launched a program for teaching LGBT refugees language skills and job skills to help them get on their feet in Germany.

With a falling birth rate and declining population, Germany has welcomed the refugees not only on humanitarian grounds ... but also as a boost to immigration.

ARCH THROUGH WHICH ANTINOUS STRODE TO BE RECREATED IN LONDON AND NYC

SOON you can see a triumphal arch through which Antinous and Hadrian strode in the ancient city of Palmyra … recreated in the heart of London ... and in Manhattan.

The arch from a Palmyra temple believed to have been destroyed by DAESH Islamic State barbarians is to be recreated in London's Trafalgar Square ... and in Times Square in New York City during UNESCO World Heritage Week in April 2016.

The 2,000-year-old arch was all that remained of the Temple of Bel, part of the Syrian Unesco World Heritage site, captured by militants in May.

It will be recreated from photographs, using a 3D printer.

The institute behind the project hopes the arch will draw attention to the importance of cultural heritage.

DAESH militants have ransacked and demolished several similar ancient sites to Palmyra that pre-date Islam in Iraq, denouncing them as symbols of "idolatry".

Alexy Karenowska, from the Institute of Digital Archaeology, which is behind the project, says she hopes it will help people understand how important it is to preserve cultural sites in war-torn countries such as Syria.

She says: "People say, 'should we be worrying about this stuff when human lives are being lost?'

"Of course all of this stuff takes second place to human life, but these cultural objects are very important to give a sense of place and community."

It's unknown if the Palmyra Arch was fully destroyed.

"The status is uncertain," says Karenowska, the institute's director of technology. 

"This is part of the motivation for selecting this particular object for the installation," she explains.

"Given the level of destruction in Palmyra, it seems unlikely it has survived without some damage, but if it remains standing in any form, it represents an outstanding symbol of resilience."

She adds: "If it doesn't, then the message is obviously just as powerful, but for different reasons."

The installation will be created off-site and then assembled at Trafalgar Square and Times Square.

In London, it will stand next to the National Gallery and Nelson's Column, both Neo-Classical in style.

The famous 15m (50ft) arch will also illustrate Britain and Syria's shared heritage, with the Greco-Roman architecture of Palmyra echoed by the neoclassical buildings of the National Gallery and Nelson's Column.

DAESH TIE PRISONERS TO ROMAN COLUMNS THEN BLOW THEM UP AT PALMYRA

IN their quest to come up with ever-more fiendish ways to kill people and destroy ancient artefacts, DAESH Islamic State barbarians have tied three prisoners to Ancient Roman columns at Palmyra ... and then blown up the columns.

Antinous and Hadrian passed by these columns when they entered this fabled "Garden City" in 129 AD.

The new atrocity was reported by a monitoring group. Independent verification is not yet available, since DAESH restrict the flow of information from their occupied areas in Syria.

Since sweeping to power across Iraq and Syria last year, Isil has been systematically erasing signs of their pluralistic histories. 

Palmyra has been a particularly egregious target of their hatred.Palmyra was called the "Garden City of the Sands" and scientists say it was TERRA-FARMED to create a lush green oasis of life and civilization in the midst of the desert.

Islamic State fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

In early October, DAESH destroyed the PALMYRA TRIUMPHAL ARCH through which Hadrian and Antinous strode.

Just weeks ago DAESH blew up the BAALSHAMIN Temple in Palmyra. The photo at right shows how impressive even its ruins were prior to its being blown to bits by DAESH.

We know Antinous & Hadrian saw it because Hadrian decreed a vast expansion of the temple.

Earlier it was reported that KHALED ASSAD, an 81-year-old antiquities scholar who devoted his life to understanding Palmyra, was beheaded by DAESH militants, his bloodied body hung on a pole. He had even named his daughter after Zenobia, the queen that ruled from the city 1,700 years ago.

DAESH claims ancient relics promote idolatry and say they are destroying them as part of their purge of paganism. However, they are also believed to sell off looted antiquities, bringing in significant sums of cash.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has been told that DAESH militants have killed 30 suspected gay men for "sodomy" in recent months.

DAESH released a video showing CHILDREN STONING two gay men to death after they had been thrown off a building in Homs Syria. It is one of a grisly series of such gay execution videos. 

Last month, DAESH released a video showing two other men accused of being gay THROWN OFF A BUILDING and then stoned by a crowd in Palmyra.

Only a few weeks earlier, more than 25 men were EXECUTED BY CHILDREN at the famous theater in Palmyra.

ANTINOUS STRODE THROUGH THIS ARCH NOW BLOWN UP BY DAESH BARBARIANS

DAESH Islamic State barbarians have blown up the triumphal arch in Palmyra ... through which Emperor Hadrian and Antinous entered this fabled "Garden City" in 129 AD.

The Arch of Triumph was "pulverised" by the militants who control the city, a Palmyra activist told AFP news agency.

When Antinous saw Palmyra in ancient times, this arch was the formal entryway into the oasis city which was one of the most wondrous marvels of Ancient Syria.

He arrived with Hadrian to be initiated into Mithras Mysteries 1,900 years ago and most certainly entered the city through this arch.

Palmyra was called the "Garden City of the Sands" and scientists say it was TERRA-FARMED to create a lush green oasis of life and civilization in the midst of the desert.

Islamic State fighters have already destroyed two ancient temples at the site, described by Unesco as one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.

"The Arch of Triumph was pulverized. IS has destroyed it," Mohammad Hassan al-Homsi, an activist from Palmyra, told AFP on Monday. 

Just weeks ago DAESH blew up the BAALSHAMIN Temple in Palmyra. The photo at right shows how impressive even its ruins were prior to its being blown to bits by DAESH.

We know Antinous & Hadrian saw it because Hadrian decreed a vast expansion of the temple.

News of the destruction of the temple comes after relatives and witnesses said Wednesday that Khaled Asaad, an 81-year-old antiquities scholar who devoted his life to understanding Palmyra, was beheaded by DAESH militants, his bloodied body hung on a pole. He had even named his daughter after Zenobia, the queen that ruled from the city 1,700 years ago.

The fate of the nearby Temple of Bel, dedicated to the Semitic god Bel, was not immediately known. ISIL supporters on social media also did not immediately mention the temple's destruction.

ISIL members have also  looted and vandalized a museum in the Iraqi city of Mosul and have massively damaged the ancient cities of Hatra and Ninevah, both UNESCO world heritage sites.

DAESH claims ancient relics promote idolatry and say they are destroying them as part of their purge of paganism. However, they are also believed to sell off looted antiquities, bringing in significant sums of cash.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has been told that DAESH militants have killed 30 suspected gay men for "sodomy" in recent months.

DAESH released a video showing CHILDREN STONING two gay men to death after they had been thrown off a building in Homs Syria. It is one of a grisly series of such gay execution videos. 

Last month, DAESH released a video showing two other men accused of being gay THROWN OFF A BUILDING and then stoned by a crowd in Palmyra.

Only a few weeks earlier, more than 25 men were EXECUTED BY CHILDREN at the famous theater in Palmyra.