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A signed portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, dated 2002, was among the treasures inside Bashar al-Assad’s New Shaab Palace in Damascus, now overrun by rebel forces. The portrait, a relic of the Syrian president’s diplomatic visit to Buckingham Palace with his British-born wife Asma, was discovered in a room stuffed with prized possessions and diplomatic gifts.
The room, now widely photographed, featured gold-encrusted chests, paintings, pottery, and mementoes of Assad’s rule, including a rug with his face, a gold FIFA award from 2005, and a silver shield, the NYT reported. The 2002 portrait takes us back to the time Assad courted global leaders, striving to rehabilitate Syria’s image following his father’s brutal regime.
Bashar al-Assad, who once projected an image of reform, saw his rule crumble under the weight of a brutal civil war that began in 2011. He and his family fled Damascus on December 8 in haste, seeking asylum in Moscow, as rebel forces swept through the capital after a 12-day offensive. Evidence of their abrupt departure was visible in the palace, with military maps left scattered on Assad’s desk. Hours later, civilians posed for selfies at the once heavily guarded workspace – the collapse of his long-standing rule.
As the palace doors were thrown open, footage showed civilians and fighters looting items ranging from Louis Vuitton bags to chandeliers. Outside, Assad’s fleet of luxury vehicles, including Ferraris, Aston Martins, Rolls-Royces, and a Bugatti Veyron, became a spectacle for the crowds.
Rebels now guard the palace gates, preventing looting while using the grand reception rooms as resting spots. Inside, remnants of a hastily abandoned regime – shredded documents, half-finished coffee cups, and scattered luxury items – paint a vivid picture of how the Assad dynasty fell.
The scene echoes the fall of other autocratic leaders. In 2011, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s compound revealed jewel-encrusted pistols and a bizarre portrait of Condoleezza Rice, alongside a golden dagger worth $10 million, later recovered in 2016.
