The Syrian government has promised to rebuild the ancient city of Palmyra after recapturing it from the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or IS, over the weekend.
IS fighters overran the city last May but have now pulled out after a deadly three-week battle with Russian-backed government forces.
It has been hailed as both a strategic and symbolic victory for the Syrian government and a propaganda coup for President Bashar Al-Assad.
The fabled ruins of Palmyra are now back in government control after a 10-month reign by IS.
IS had taunted the world by carrying out and filming mass killings in Palmyra's historic Roman theatre and destroying ancient temples and buildings.
The head of Syrian Antiquities, Mamoun Abdulkarim, says he hopes an assessment of the damage to the United Nations world heritage-listed city can be done within the next few days.
"UNESCO will send a mission when the security conditions allow this. We welcome every expert party which loves Palmyra and wishes to contribute with us in rebuilding the city."
Known as the "Bride of the Desert," Palmyra used to attract tens of thousands of tourists a year before Syria's civil war ignited in 2011.
The colonnades and columns are still standing, but the extent of the damage remains unclear.
Mr Abdulkarim has made the bold claim that most of Palmyra's restoration work will be completed by the end of the year to allow the 2,000-year-old city to live on.
But he has remained vague over how it will be rebuilt.
"Work may simply end in 2016. We have huge capabilities and expertise in the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums. We've already executed tens of restoration works in Palmyra. We have the experience to accomplish this."
Syrian government forces backed by heavy Russian air support drove IS out of Palmyra in a battle that lasted three weeks.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 400 IS fighters were killed, and the rest were forced out of the city.
Control of Palmyra means Government forces now control the surrounding desert stretching to the Iraqi border to the south.
That opens access to the IS stronghold of Deir Az-Zour and IS's self-declared capital of Raqqa.
The Syrian army calls the recapture of Palmyra a "mortal blow" to the militants, and United Nations secretary general Ban Ki Moon says it is a critical step forward against IS, or ISIS.
"We are encouraged and fortunate that Syrian government forces have been able to retrieve or defeat ISIS from Palmyra and (Syria) is now able to preserve and protect these human common assets, cultural assets. And I'm also encouraged by the announcement that they will try to not only preserve and protect, they try to restore. I hope they will be able to do that."
Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has credited Vladimir Putin over the victory, a sentiment reciprocated by his Russian counterpart.
It comes amid a fragile ceasefire implemented a month ago between the Syrian government and almost all of the other opposition groups.
While the truce is mostly being observed, it does not apply to groups such as the Al-Nusra Front and IS, widely deemed terrorist groups.
Ban Ki-Moon says the tide is slowly turning to eventually return peace to Syria.
"The continuing cessation of hostilities provides us a good opportunity and momentum for continuing dialogue between the intra-Syrian parties and also for the United Nations and the humanitarian agencies to deliver life-saving support to many besieged people and refugees. That's what we are continuing to do."
