The entrance to the ruins of the old village of Belchite is seen in northern Spain, October 3, 2016. Almost 80 years ago Tomas Ortin fled under the cover of night from his home in the small town of Belchite on Spain's northern plains to escape with hundreds of others from one of the bloodiest battles of the country's civil war. At 94 years old, Ortin now lives just across the road from Belchite, which has lain in ruins since Republican forces attacked it, a symbol of the destruction caused by the 1936-1939 war in which an estimated 500,000 people died. The siege of Belchite was part of a Republican offensive in 1937 to capture Zaragoza, capital of the Aragon region, from the Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco, who went on to win the war and establish a dictatorship that lasted 40 years. Nationalist-controlled Belchite represented a key obstacle given its strategic location in the red-brown hills south of Zaragoza. As many as 6,000 people died defending it before those left surrendered. It became one of the civil war's most infamous battles. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Visitors walk past ruins in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 14, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Tomas Ortin, 94, survivor of the Belchite battle, poses for a picture at the ruins of his former home in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 14, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





The sun sets over ruins in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





The moon rises behind the San Martin de Tours church in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 14, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Visitors walk past the Cross for the Fallen in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Windmills are seen behind the ruins of the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Sky is seen through the holes of the San Agustin church ceiling in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, October 3, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Ruins of a building are seen in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Bullet holes and the remains of a street sign are seen on a building in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





A graffiti is seen on the entrance door of San Martin de Tours church in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, October 3, 2016. The graffiti reads: “Old town of Belchite, young men don't wander around you anymore. The jots (typical songs and dance of the area) that our fathers used to sing, won't be heard anymore”. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





A man looks out of a building during a guided night visit in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





The tower of the San Agustin church is seen in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





Remains of a building are seen in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





A visitor looks at a monument where Spanish Civil war victims are buried, in the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, October 3, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)





A man dressed up as a Republican soldier looks at his mobile phone as he waits for tourists in front of the entrance to the old village of Belchite, in northern Spain, November 14, 2016. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)