In 2009, Peter Aaron, an architectural photographer, and Brooke Allen, author and professor, went on vacation with their children to Syria. Brooke wrote a book about their experience called “The Other Side of the Mirror: An American Travels Through Syria” (Paul Dry Books). Within 2 years of their trip, civil war broke out and many of the landmarks that Peter had photographed were damaged or destroyed. His photographs—now a precious documentation of Syria’s vanishing history and culture—are currently on exhibit at the Venice Biennale and can be seen in a new book called “Syria Before the Deluge.”