> Today it is a ruin, but one that remains unmistakably alive.

wat? why is it still alive? the paragraph just ended like that, no further explanation? I get the feeling I should not trust these words. (Looking at the pre-2023 articles by the same writer, they are in a very different writing style. Sigh.)

That "ABOVE: aerial view of fortified structure of Sharba" picture though is amazing. Like it was swallowed by the sand, or it's an outgrowth, a welt being covered by a skin of sand.

And https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qanat (foggaras) is intriguing.