Aleppo

Many historians agree to consider Aleppo the oldest inhabited city in the world. This city still preserves its heritage up to these days to unfold it blended with the civilizations of many peoples and nations that lived on its land. Aleppo‘s history started four thousand years ago with the rise of Babel and Nineva.

The Tetians, the Amorites, the Pharaohs, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Armenians, the Romans, the Byzantines, and Arab Moslems passed through Aleppo which, also, suffered from the Franks siege, the Ottoman occupation and lately the French Mandate. During these long years Aleppo acquired several names. It was mentioned for the first time, as Aran, on the obelisque of Naram Sin, 3rd millennium BC,which was discovered in Diar Bakr in Turkey. This name was lately rediscovered in the royal archives of Ebla, Tall Mardikh, south of Aleppo.

In the discoveries of Mari, Tall al Hariri,on the Euphrates river, Aleppo was mentioned as Helia, the capital of the Amorite kingdom of Yemhadh 1800 BC. Ancient Egyptian documents which belong to the20th century B.C. mentioned it as“Halabo” while Assyrian tablets memorized it as “Khalaba” or “Khalwan”. TheSeleucids named it Baria, after the wife of one of the supreme commanders ofAlexander.It was also called Khalibonited. Say that Abraham, the prophet, milked (in Arabic “Halaba”) his white cow (in Arabic“al Shahba”) in the city, so it took the name of Halab al Shahba which means White Aleppo.

Unique Beauty

In 1978 the UNESCO registered the city of Aleppo as a city of heritage, due to the abundance of ancient sites and cultural destinations in it. The beauty of old Aleppo is attributed to the Islamic period which influenced its organizational plans, architecture, and the life style of its people. Nature also gave Aleppo another feature which added, over long ages, an element of grandeur to its beauty represented in the snow white lime stones from which most of the buildings of the city were built. Coupled with the skill of the masons and the creational talent of architects, these stones turned Aleppo into one of the richest cities in the world in historical sites.

Every construction in Aleppo is built from stones: housing blocks, mosques government facilities. The tourist can spend weeks in this city to discover something new in every corner of its streets, since it unfolds a centuries long history to his eyes, so that he forgets himself and gives his imagination the freedom to roam deep in the secrets of its alleys and quarters. We attempted to shortlist the beauties of Aleppo but we failed, due to the large number of its treasures: the wall, the gates, the bazaars, the khans (hostels), the palaces, the mosques and above all, the citadel which stands in the center of the city as a witness to its greatness.

The Citadel

The historical citadel of Aleppo is one of the richest destinations in Syria and the largest of its type in the world. It recorded the main historical events of Aleppo. It is known that the citadel was built in the Islamic period. Historians say it was built by Saif al Dawla al Hamadani while others say that Ghazi, son of Saladin, is the builder. Excavations and discoveries proved that origins of the citadel date back to the third millennium B.C. because many Aramaic temples were discovered under its layers. Roman ruins were found in the site so that we can definitely say the citadel was built over these temples and ruins. The citadel is 50 m above the level of the city. It has towers with marvelous designs and a deep, 500 m radius, and 28 m wide moat. Most important parts of the castle are the museum, the throne court, and two mosques.

Old Bazaars

If the citadel stands as a symbol of the old part of the city and its nerve center, now we see that the center of activity in Aleppo is concentrated in its old bazaars, which combine handicrafts and traditional trades. These bazaars, with their large areas, architecture and cultural and tourist role, stand as elements of attraction in Aleppo. Combined together, they are 12000 m long. They are roofed with strong stone arches that make them look like tunnels dug in the rocks. Square windows in these roofs give light and fresh air, so that the sun rays infiltrate to lighten the atmosphere of the bazaars which are always saturated mixed with the vivid movement of people and sounds of vendors promoting their goods. The main souk (bazaar) of Aleppo starts from the boundaries of the citadel in the east and extends one km west of the gate of Antioch. Many bazaars branch from this souk in perpendicular design to connect with other bazaars parallel to the main one. Each bazaar is specialized in a certain kind of trade. One is for perfumes, another for textiles, and a third for readymade clothes. A bazaar sells rugs, another sells shoes while a neighboring one sells gold and jewelry, and so on.

Oriental Khans

Along the souks, stand the khans (hostels) which were originally built for industrial, commercial and accommodation purposes. The khan has a ground floor usually used as a market place, and a secondfloor for accommodating travelersand strangers. Most important of thesekhans are khan al Wazir, khan alQassabin, and khan al Jumruk.Khan alShuna is the largest in Aleppo, therefore it was changed into a handicraft bazaar.

Aleppo Today

No doubt, a visit to Aleppo is a journey that makes the tourist pass from the past to the present, since Aleppo is a wonderful modern city. It had expanded widely during the past decades. The new part of the city has long and wide streets, large green parks, well designed squares, many schools and colleges, modern buildings and huge gigantic towers, factories with the latest technologies and minarets of mosques .Aleppo museums which enlighten the world with the history of the region, stand as a Mecca for the scholars who seek to know better about ancient Orient.

Haifa Mafalani