Syria uses Game of Thrones music in video promoting Aleppo as tourism destination.

Syria Uses Game of Thrones Music in Video Promoting Aleppo as Tourism Destination

Syria Uses Game of Thrones Music in Video Promoting Aleppo as Tourism Destination

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Oct. 2 2016 7:05 PM

Syria Uses Game of Thrones Music in Video Promoting Aleppo as Tourism Destination

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Smoke billows from buildings during an operation by Syrian government forces to retake control of the rebel-held district of Leramun, on the northwest outskirts of Aleppo, on July 26, 2016.

GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images

When the world thinks of Aleppo, images of bombed out buildings and dead children are likely the first thing to come to mind. But the Syrian Tourism Ministry apparently wants to change that and has released a promotional video featuring drone footage of the western, government-held side of the city. Sure, the rebel-held part of Aleppo may be a “living hell” for civilians, as the U.N.’s humanitarian chief said this weekend but the video posted on the ministry's Facebook page showcases beautiful parks and hotel pools.

The strangest part of the extremely bizarre video though is that it features a cover of the Game of Thrones theme song. Because, you know, setting your promotional video of the war-torn country to the theme music of a show about feuding families battling for control of a territory makes perfect sense. The video ends with a tagline: “Aleppo … Will of Life.”

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As bizarre as it is, this is only the latest entrant to the showcase of the parallel world in which Syria’s Tourism Ministry apparently inhabits. Earlier this year, the ministry made headlines around the world when it released a video promoting the coastal town of Tartus as a vacation destination.

Illustrating how Syria wants to combat the image of Aleppo as, well, pretty much one of the worst places on Earth, last week, the state-run news agency tweeted a video of people in Aleppo allegedly enjoying the city’s “thriving nightlife.”

Daniel Politi has been contributing to Slate since 2004 and wrote the Today’s Papers column from 2006 to 2009. Follow him on Twitter.