Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world. Battered and bullet-ridden but still standing!

PALMYRA, Syria (AP) — The stately remnants of 2,000-year-old columns and temples rise from the sand in the ancient city of Palmyra, known to locals as the “Bride of the Desert.” Once the capital of a ...