video transcript

The Old City of Aleppo, once a show case in Syria. Now it is a shadow of itself. Another front line of a costly civil war. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AL TAWHED BRIGADE, FREE SYRIAN ARMY FIGHTER, ABU OTHMAN, SAYING: "Bashar al Assad destroyed the mosques and old souks, one of the oldest souks in the world. Now all the souks are destroyed, goods are burnt and people's livelihoods have stopped completely, We haven't had water or electricity in two months." The 21 month old conflict in Syria has shattered this world heritage site. Burnt out trucks stand beside war ravaged buildings. A mosque, once a place for worship is now a reminder of what once was. Not long go the Old City was a place people would come to shop -- for shoes books or green olive soap. A man shows the devastation in an ancient bathhouse. A shell tore through its dome. A fountain is left behind -- broken and dry as a bone. The conflict has cost the lives of some 44,000 people -- and left Aleppo's Old City as another reminder of the cost of war.