One decade ago, architectural photographer Peter Aaron traveled through Syria with his family, taking snapshots of city streets and historic sites along the way. Only two years later, civil war broke out as part of the Arab Spring uprisings, destroying many of the monuments that appear within his black-and-white images. His exhibition “Before the War: Photographs of Syria by Peter Aaron” offers a look back into multicultural cities where ancient architecture built by different civilizations coexisted. Museum director William U. Eiland will lead a conversation with the photographer, whose work contemplates the passage of time, Syria’s complex sense of collective identity and what is lost through conflict.