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US Returns Stolen Antiquities Worth $5 Million to Syria

The Palmyran stone was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra before ISIS members destroyed much of the city from 2015 to 2017. (Reuters)
The Palmyran stone was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra before ISIS members destroyed much of the city from 2015 to 2017. (Reuters)
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US Returns Stolen Antiquities Worth $5 Million to Syria

The Palmyran stone was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra before ISIS members destroyed much of the city from 2015 to 2017. (Reuters)
The Palmyran stone was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra before ISIS members destroyed much of the city from 2015 to 2017. (Reuters)

US officials announced Wednesday the return of 36 stolen antiquities to Syria, including a stone trafficked during the ISIS group's destruction of the ancient site of Palmyra.

Authorities seized the items, collectively valued at more than $5 million, from New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and several ancient art collectors.

"Repatriation ceremonies are a powerful reminder that preserving cultural heritage transcends any border or nationality," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The Palmyran stone was removed from the UNESCO World Heritage site Palmyra before ISIS members destroyed much of the city from 2015 to 2017, according to a press release.

Weighing more than 450 kilograms, the carved limestone sculpture depicts a reclining male surrounded by a woman and three children.

The United States has returned looted antiquities over the years to several countries, including China, Greece and Italy.

Mohammad Kanatri, Syria's charge d'affaires in Washington, said the transfer demonstrates how "a shared commitment to protecting cultural heritage can build lasting bridges between our two countries."

"Through Syrian-American cooperation, a part of Syria's history is finally returning home thanks to the efforts of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office," he said in a statement.

Four of the antiquities were seized from American collector Michael Steinhardt, who in 2021 returned about 180 items stolen from around the world as part of a deal with the US government. The pieces had a total value of $70 million.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office said the 13 items seized from the Met were among 402 antiquities valued at $98.7 million that it has taken from the cultural institution since 2017.

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Riyadh Art Brings Monumental Works by Saudi Artist Mohammed Al Saleem to its Permanent Collection of Public Art

Created by Saudi-based architecture and engineering consultancy Omrania, the Western Metro Station reinterprets desert sand dunes through earth-colored forms that define entrances - SPA
Created by Saudi-based architecture and engineering consultancy Omrania, the Western Metro Station reinterprets desert sand dunes through earth-colored forms that define entrances - SPA
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Riyadh Art Brings Monumental Works by Saudi Artist Mohammed Al Saleem to its Permanent Collection of Public Art

Created by Saudi-based architecture and engineering consultancy Omrania, the Western Metro Station reinterprets desert sand dunes through earth-colored forms that define entrances - SPA
Created by Saudi-based architecture and engineering consultancy Omrania, the Western Metro Station reinterprets desert sand dunes through earth-colored forms that define entrances - SPA

Riyadh Art announced the addition of seven monumental sculptures by pioneering Saudi artist Mohammed Al Saleem to the Riyadh Art permanent collection. Six works have been installed at Western Metro Station on Line 3 (Orange Line) in Riyadh, with the seventh scheduled for installation at a later date.

The sculptures bring an important part of Al Saleem's artistic practice into the city for which they were originally conceived.

Created in 1985 for a Riyadh Municipality public art competition but never installed, the seven works remained in Al Saleem's workshop for decades. In 2022, the Royal Commission for Riyadh City acquired the sculptures and undertook their restoration and conservation, supervised by his daughter, Najla Mohammed Al Saleem, and Al Saleem's foundation, Dar Al-Funoon Al-Sa'udiyyah, to preserve the artist's original vision, SPA reported.

The seven works are Al Showkah Al Khumasiyah (The Pentagon Thorn), Shurfa (Parapet Merlon), Al Kurah (The Ball), Al Mouthalathat (The Triangles), Bur'aum Al Zahrah (The Flower Bud), and Al Ahilla (The Crescents), all installed this August, with Al Nafourah Al Halazouniyah (The Spiral Fountain) due to be installed at a later date. Drawing on desert landscapes, Najdi architecture, geometric forms, and celestial references, the sculptures reflect Al Saleem's distinctive approach to abstraction and the influence of Riyadh and Najd on his practice.

Created by Saudi-based architecture and engineering consultancy Omrania, the Western Metro Station reinterprets desert sand dunes through earth-colored forms that define entrances, allow natural light, and provide shade for pedestrians. Located within Western Station's outdoor plaza, the works bring these references into a contemporary public setting shaped by movement and connection.

"Mohammed Al Saleem holds an important place in the history of modern Saudi art, and his work is deeply connected to Riyadh and the landscape and architecture of Najd," said Senior Director of Riyadh Art Bader AlShenaifi. "Bringing these works into the Riyadh Art permanent collection preserves an important part of Saudi Arabia's artistic heritage while giving Al Saleem's work a lasting presence in the public life of the city that inspired so much of his practice."

The works join the Riyadh Art permanent collection, a citywide collection of public artworks installed across neighborhoods, public spaces, and major transport corridors throughout the capital. The Riyadh Art permanent collection now comprises 82 artworks across the capital.

Culture

Paris’ Louvre and Other Top Museums to Close on Saturday Over Concern about Protest Violence

Visitors wait outside as protesters block the entrance to the Louvre Museum to express their support for the high school students' movement in Paris, France, 19 October 2026, two days after demonstrations and riots took place alongside nationwide cost-of-living protests. (EPA)
Visitors wait outside as protesters block the entrance to the Louvre Museum to express their support for the high school students' movement in Paris, France, 19 October 2026, two days after demonstrations and riots took place alongside nationwide cost-of-living protests. (EPA)
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Paris’ Louvre and Other Top Museums to Close on Saturday Over Concern about Protest Violence

Visitors wait outside as protesters block the entrance to the Louvre Museum to express their support for the high school students' movement in Paris, France, 19 October 2026, two days after demonstrations and riots took place alongside nationwide cost-of-living protests. (EPA)
Visitors wait outside as protesters block the entrance to the Louvre Museum to express their support for the high school students' movement in Paris, France, 19 October 2026, two days after demonstrations and riots took place alongside nationwide cost-of-living protests. (EPA)

The Louvre and several other major Paris museums will be closed on Saturday over concerns about potential violence during planned protests, France’s culture ministry said.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the ministry said the Orsay and Picasso museums were also among those that will close.

Protests last Saturday devolved into mayhem, with rioters setting fires, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police. The ministry called on all institutions under its authority to adopt any necessary measures to ensure “visitor safety, staff protection and the preservation of artworks,” according to the statement.

Others are taking the same tack. After two days when admission was invite-only, Art Basel Paris opened to the public on Friday — but only for the day, with the threat of unrest prompting organizers on Thursday to cancel the weekend program.

Paris’ Grand Palais is hosting 211 international galleries and their exhibitions for Art Basel, considered one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fairs.

“It’s kind of like the art Olympics,” New York-based artist Drake Carr, who is showing his work with Mariposa Gallery, said in an interview.

However, timing proved unfortunate, with the French capital gripped by social tension. The clashes and widespread looting over the weekend marked France’s most violent unrest in years.

A protest on Thursday afternoon in Paris was peaceful, and Art Basel's organizers announced the decision to close for the weekend around the same time. The protest planned for Saturday is expected to be much larger.

"This decision has not been taken lightly, and the safety of everyone involved in the fair remains our utmost priority," organizers said in a statement. Its website posted a similar announcement and said weekend ticketholders would be contacted.

Saloni Doshi, an art collector who travelled to Paris from India for the fair, grew worried last Saturday as she saw the fires and panicked people, and she received phone calls from friends asking whether Paris was safe. She agreed with the organizers' rationale to close.

“It's hard that something like this has to happen, but state activities and people's freedom have to continue,” she told the AP. “I cannot imagine that a bunch of elite, privileged people getting inconvenienced because of this should have a voice.”

Antoine Donzeaud and Elisa Rigoulet, the owners of the gallery exo exo, felt the same.

“We understand this decision, which we consider reasonable and consistent with the urgency of the social demands currently unfolding in France,” they said in a text message.

Culture

Twice a Year, a Golden Sunbeam Illuminates a 3,000-Year-Old Pharaonic Temple

Tourists crowd to film the sun as it sends a beam of light into the Great Temple of Ramses II's dark inner chamber in Abu Simbel, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, a rare 3,200-year-old astronomical ceremony that happens twice a year. (AP)
Tourists crowd to film the sun as it sends a beam of light into the Great Temple of Ramses II's dark inner chamber in Abu Simbel, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, a rare 3,200-year-old astronomical ceremony that happens twice a year. (AP)
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Twice a Year, a Golden Sunbeam Illuminates a 3,000-Year-Old Pharaonic Temple

Tourists crowd to film the sun as it sends a beam of light into the Great Temple of Ramses II's dark inner chamber in Abu Simbel, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, a rare 3,200-year-old astronomical ceremony that happens twice a year. (AP)
Tourists crowd to film the sun as it sends a beam of light into the Great Temple of Ramses II's dark inner chamber in Abu Simbel, 870 kilometers (540 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, a rare 3,200-year-old astronomical ceremony that happens twice a year. (AP)

Hundreds of tourists from around the world and locals gathered at dawn Thursday at a temple in southern Egypt, with some sleeping outside it overnight to witness a solar phenomenon that has taken place here for millennia.

Twice a year, on Oct. 22 and Feb. 22 — dates believed to mark the ascension of Ramesses II to the throne and his birthday — the sun sends a beam of light into the Great Temple of Ramses II’s dark inner chamber to illuminate the statues of the pharaoh and two gods beside him.

The illumination, a result of the temple's alignment with the sun, lasts about 20 minutes.

“Today is a very special day, as you can see. It’s a celebration and a historic holiday," Hisham Khela, a local tour guide for Italian tourists, told The Associated Press.

Egyptology enthusiasts and other visitors stood in a messy single-file line with phone cameras in hand, some with selfie sticks and most with bags under their eyes from waking up so early. Although huge crowds turned up, they looked tiny beside the giant statues lining the temple, which overlooks the Nile.

To mark the phenomenon, colorfully dressed performers scattered in front of the temple smiled and danced in unison to meditative chimes, the percussion of the tabla and the distinct sound of mizmars, an ancient Egyptian trumpet.

Inside the temple, visitors huddled tightly in near-total darkness in front of the statues of Ramesses II and the gods Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty, lit by a beam of sunlight that traveled about 60 meters (200 feet) into the temple, according to the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics.

For first-timers, ancient history created modern memories.

Janice Souudi, who traveled from Atlanta, Georgia, said it was her first time in Egypt, and she said it won’t be her last.

“I came here today for the huge temple statues and how well preserved they are. But I was most impressed with the colors of the carvings and hieroglyphics and imagery," she said. "Beautiful, stunning, worth it!”

In the 1960s, archaeologists carried out a massive project to dismantle and relocate the temple, moving it out of the path of rising waters created by the Aswan High Dam.

Engineers took care to preserve the temple’s alignment with the sun, so that more than 3,000 years after it was built, the light still finds its way inside.