The restoration of the Ahmadiyya market in Old Aleppo is underway

Rehabilitation and restoration work continues in the Al-Ahmadiyya market in old Aleppo, which is one of the nine markets of the straight street extending from Bab Antakya to the end of the Al-Zarb market overlooking the Citadel of Aleppo.

The restoration  work in the market, which includes 19 shops, is carried out in accordance with  the agreement signed between the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums, the Aleppo Province, the City Council, the Aga Khan Foundation for Culture and the Syrian Trust for Development.

Engineer Ahmed Al-Shihabi, director of the old city of Aleppo, explained that the restoration works included removing distortions, rehabilitating the domes that were damaged by the attacks of terrorist organizations, restoring stone facades, and dipping roofs, in addition to installing wooden doors according to the urban pattern of the markets.

Engineer Al-Shihabi pointed out that in parallel, work is being done to rehabilitate the electrical grid infrastructure as the air grid was replaced by a ground feed network that is distributed to shops

Tarek Siraj, the Managing Officer of the Aga Khan Cultural Services Foundation, stated that the rehabilitation work began two months ago and it will continue until the first half of next year. It includes the implementation of plans and the restoration of the facades of the shops and stone arches, pointing out that the restoration of the Ahmadiyya market is one of the projects implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation in cooperation with the concerned authorities and the Syrian Trust for Development, with the aim of reviving the straight road.

Talking about the role of the Syrian Trust for Development, Ahmed Kubba, the Secretariat’s Economic Projects Supervisor, spoke about the importance of restoring the old markets of Aleppo within a development, community and legal framework, indicating that the shops had been handed over to their owners, and that all documents and data needed for the restoration process had been released. “There will be meetings with traders to elect a committee representing the shopkeepers in the market and once the external and internal renovations have been completed, the shopkeepers will be assisted in obtaining soft loans to restore the economic mobility of the market,” he added.

Amal Farhat