Introduction
Now Aleppo or Halab with 3 million people (2000), it is
Syria's second largest city 193 kilometres north of
Homs and 350 kilometres north of
Damascus. It is the capital of Aleppo
governorate, NW Syria, and
it is a commercial centre located in a semi-desert region. In the
Aleppo city there is a big Turkish /Armenian community who are
mainly Christian. There is also a large Russian community. This
can be seen by the numerous Russian signs that adorn many shops.
Aleppo, has an international airport and is accessible, via train
with other cities and countries.
Historically it is said that Abraham was camping on the acropolis
which, long before his time, served as the foundation of fortress
(where the Aleppo citadel is standing now) and he milked (Halab)
his Grey cow there. This is how Aleppo got the name of "Halab
al-Shahba"
Aleppo is famous for its citadel that towers over it.
Traditionally a city of trade, especially before the Suez canal,
it used to link Europe and India. A truly charming oriental city.
Aleppo is the city of Architecture. One can find various styles in
it; architectures of the XIII th. and XIV th. centuries, like the
caravanserais, coranic schools and Hammams (so called Turkish
baths), in the old city. Architecture of the XVI th. and XVII th.
centuries, in the residencies of the delicate bourgeoisie of the
Jdayde quarter, with its magnificent stone engravings. Baroque
Architecture of XIX th. and the beginning of the XX th. centuries,
in the Azizyeh quarter (e.g. la Villa Rosa). The new chic ?Shahba?
quarter is a mixture of several styles, i.e. Neo -Classic, Norman,
Oriental, etc. You can even find some Chinese pagodas. Aleppo is
built entirely from stone.
History
The city was inhabited perhaps as early as the 6th millennium B.C
and competes with Damascus on being the
oldest inhabited city in the world. It appeared in the Hittite
archives in central Anatolia and in the archives of
Mari on the Euphrates. In the 14th-13th
cent. B.C. it was controlled by the Hittites. Later, Aleppo was a
key point on the major caravan route across
Syria to Baghdad (Iraq). From the
9th to the 7th cent. B.C. it was mostly ruled by Assyria and was
known as Halman. It was later (6th cent. B.C.) held by the
Persians and Seleucids. In 333 BC, Aleppo was taken over by
Alexander the Great, and was kept under the Greeks for 300 years
in the form of the Seleucid Empire. During this time Aleppo was an
important trading city, between the Euphrates and Antioch.
Seleucus I (d. 280 B.C.) rebuilt much of the city, renaming it
Berea. The city's commercial importance was enhanced by the fall
of Palmyra . In 64 BC Pompey brought
Syria under Roman domination. It remained under Roman control in
the form of the Byzantine Empire and was a major centre of
Christianity, and huge cathedral was built in it (which is still
standing) until 637AD, when the Arabs took over in; subsequently,
In 944 Aleppo was taken over by the Hamdani's whose
made it virtually independent of the Abbasid Caliphate. Under the
first Hamadanid Seif al-Daula (who built Aleppo?s famous citadel)
the city enjoyed great prosperity and fame in science, literature
and medicine, despite this leader?s military ambitions. Mention
should be made of the two most prominent poets, al-Mutanabbi and
Abu al-Firas; of the philosopher and scientist, al-Farabi the
foremost Arab thinker before Avicenna; and of the linguist, Ibn
Kahlaweh, all of who lived in Sayf al-Dawla's court and were
renowned for great knowledge and scholarship.
It was unfortunate for Seif al-Daula that at the end of his reign
his Byzantine opponent should have been the capable Emperor
Nicephorus Phocas. Successive Greek invasions gave the dynasty no
chance to get a secure footing and soon after the Emir's death the
brilliance passed away. In 962 AD it was retaken
by the Byzantine Empire and in 1098, it was circled by soldiers
from the First Crusade who could not conquer it, but paralyzed its
commercial power. It was besieged again in 1124 by another
Crusade, and then taken over by Zengi and his successor Nur al
Din, and Saladin captured it in 1183, making it his stronghold. At
the death of Saladin the Ayyubid dynasty was perpetuated in
Aleppo. At the Mameluke period, trade was diverted from Aleppo to
the North in Antioch and to the South through
Palmyra. But when the Mongol Empire
under Hulagu Khan (1260) and by Timur (1401) broke up and some
converted to Islam, trade resumed through Aleppo. In 1517 the
Ottoman Empire annexed Aleppo, which then became a great
commercial city. From 1832 to 1840 it was held by Muhammad Ali of
Egypt. In the late 19th cent., Aleppo?s importance declined as
Damascus grew and the Suez Canal and
other trade routes were developed. The city revived under French
control after World War I and Aleppo's trade rose with the arrival
of Armenian refugees, who fled the Ottoman massacres. But after
France had given Antioch to Turkey, Aleppo lost its
Mediterranean outlet.
Nassiro Khosrau, the Persian traveller who visited the town as
early as 1047, says that customs were then levied there on
merchandise to and from the whole Middle East, and that merchants
and traders from the surrounding lands restored there.
A Christian traveller at about the same time says that in the
cloth bazaar alone goods to the value of 20,000 dinars changed
hands daily. Neither was the discovery of the Cape route to India
as fatal as might have been expected. The Levant company and the
merchants of Marseilles and Venice, who established the town as
the chief depot for European trade at the eastern end of the
Mediterranean, maintained a very considerable activity. Even the
opening of the Suez Canal was not quite as disastrous for Aleppo
as for other caravan cities; the town could still tap the traffic
of regions to the north and east which remained comparatively
unaffected by the new developments.
Main attractions and historical
building
The attractions of the city of Aleppo is
- its 13th-century citadel witch it was built by Seif
al-Daula al hamadani on the remains of earlier civilizations. The
citadel?s fortified entrance is a marvellous example of Arab
military architecture. On the north and south sides, great towers
rise above the moat. This moat, 20 meters deep and 30 meters wide,
emphasized the fortress?s proud isolation. The main parts of the
citadel are: The throne room, the bathroom, the small mosque
(Ibrahim?s mosque).
- 12th-century Great Mosque or Al-Jami al-Kabir (was
built by the Umayyad dynasty witch is one of the largest mosques
in the world). The great mosque built in 1213 whose square minaret
is 21 meters high and from which can be seen a splendid view
- Souqs (Old Markets): In terms of spaciousness and
originality, the covered souqs of Aleppo, which extend for more
than 10 kilometres, are the most striking in any Islamic city. The
souqs are named after the various crafts: hence, we find the souq
of gold, the souq of copper, cotton, etc. Traditionally, there is
always a fountain in the centre and sometimes a little garden
planted with jasmine and roses. Most of these souqs date back to
the 15th century. They are living museum, which depict medieval
life
- Commercial Khans (caravanserais): The Khans are in the
same area as the souqs, since they were used for the accommodation
of traders and their goods. Their beautiful facades and entrances
characterize these Khans; their high arches and portified wooden
doors. Some of these Khans are Banadiqa Khan, ?Banadiqa? in Arabic
being the term of ?inhabitants of Venice', Jumruk Khan (customs),
Wazir Khan (minister) and Saboun Khan (Soap).
- Various 17th-century medersas (Old schools),
churches, palaces, hammams (public bath houses),
ancient houses, some dating back to the 15th century, like the
al-Bunduqiah (Venetian) Consulate, which contains superb ornaments
and antiquities.
- Other attractions to the city of Aleppo include, the National
Museum or Archaeological Museum witch contains exhibits
from the stone age to modern times. It has particularly
interesting collection of antiquities from some of the most
ancient sites in Syria including Mari,
Ugarit, and Ebla,
as well as objects found in the Euphrates Basin,
Hama, Tell Halaf and Ein Dara, in addition
to remains from Greek, Roman, Arab and Islamic periods.
- More attractions are the Museum of Popular Tradition
and the Baron Hotel. The Baron Hotel has seen the
likes of US President Theodore Roosevelt, Aviator Charles
Lindbergh, Kemal Attaturk (founder of Turkey), Lady Louis
Mountbatten, author Agatha Christie and her archaeologist husband
Sir Max Mallowan. None more famous than T.E. Lawrence of
Arabia, whose rooms are available.
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