She remembered her travels there where she was overwhelmed with the ancient Roman ruins and antiquities that dated back 2000 years.

Islamic State stormed the city on Thursday morning seizing parts of it from government forces in fierce fighting. Civilians were evacuated and Syria's antiquities chief called on the world to save the archaeologically rich city.

Ms Hendrix said the unique site was an oasis surrounded by miles of desert and it could take up to two hours to travel to any major city.

“What really concerned me when I was watching the footage was the inhabitants of Palmyra. There is really nowhere for them to flee. I can’t imagine where they would go,” she said.

“It’s really heart-wrenching to watch them position the tanks.

“They aren’t going to worry about what they are hitting and I very much hope the tower tombs will not be destroyed because there aren’t many of them.”

Ms Hendrix said unlike many archaeological sites the remains in Palmyra had not been built over.

“They have wonderful temples, columns and theatres that haven’t suffered all that much by destruction of humanity,” she said.

“One of the great things was you were able to go inside the tower tombs, that really illustrate the height of the civilisation with Queen Zenobia, and those days are gone for a lot of places like the Pyramids of Egypt. It is a fascinating place to see it’s got all the archaeological architecture you can dream about.

“Palmyra is what Petra is to Jordan, it is a great drawcard and sadly the country has been ripped apart.”

Jordanian archaeologist and Sydney University research associate Dr Stephen Bourke said he worked on the site for 20 years until 2010.

“Basically what you’re seeing there are Roman period remains from about the first to the third century AD. There are significant colonnaded streets, three-storey-high temples embellished with statues, theatres, bath houses and domestic dwellings as well as a large fortress built on top of a hill which looks like a medieval castle that was used to keep the city under control during ancient trade times,” he said.

“The amazing life statues depict women draped with jewellery and silks and elegantly posed. That gives you a fantastic idea of how wealthy these people were, what they wore, and depictions of women were rare in the Middle East at this time, so it really shows the pioneering fashion of this area.

“I’m certainly concerned about the statues, but Palmyra is also home to a wonderful museum which housed some incredible antiquities and like so many other areas it is possible these items will be stolen and sold to international markets and private collectors that would then fund more weaponry which is killing people.

“I want to make a point that the people working with the Syrian Department of Antiquities are risking their lives to preserve as much of this history as possible.”

Ms Hendrix said she would not be afraid to help the department put the city back together if she was asked.

“One of the lovely memories I have of the area was walking the ruins under a beautiful full moon.”