Aleppo

Aleppo is the second largest city in Syria. It is similar to Damascus with its large population and large markets but it does seem older because the people are more traditional (in a conservative sense).

Pre-20th-Century History

Aleppo vies with Damascus for the title of the world's oldest continually inhabited city. In fact, a handful of other Middle Eastern towns make this claim too, but texts from the ancient kingdom of Mari on the Euphrates River indicate that Aleppo was already the centre of a powerful state as long ago as the 18th century BC, and the site may have been continuously inhabited for the past 8000 years. Its pre-eminent role in Syria came to an end with the Hittite invasions of the 17th and 16th centuries BC, and the city appears to have fallen into obscurity thereafter. During the reign of the Seleucids, who arrived in the wake of Alexander the Great's campaign, it was given the name Beroia, and with the fall of Palmyra to the Romans, it became the major commercial link between the Mediterranean and Asia.

The town was destroyed by the Persians in AD 611, falling again to the Muslims during their invasion in 637. The Byzantines overwhelmed the town in 961 and again in 968 but they could not take the Citadel. Three disastrous earthquakes shook the town in the 10th century, and another, on August 9, 1138, ravaged the city and the surrounding area. Although estimates from this time are very unreliable, it is believed that 230,000 people died, making it the fourth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.

In 1124, the Crusaders (under Baldwin II, the Frankish king of Jerusalem) laid siege to the town. After raids by the Mongols in 1260 and 1401, in which Aleppo was all but emptied of its population, the city finally came into the Ottoman Turkish orbit (in 1517.) It prospered greatly until an earthquake in 1822 killed over 60% of the inhabitants and wrecked many buildings, including the Citadel.
Modern History

By 1901, Aleppo's population was around 125,000. The city revived when it came under French colonial rule but slumped again following the decision to give Antioch to Turkey (in 1938-1939.)

From 1952, many parts of the old city were sacrificed to progress. This started with broad roads being built through the city centre. In the 1970s, this process had reached its peak. Much of the old substance was demolished, and replaced by modern apartment buildings; what had still survived was left to decay. The turnaround came in 1986. Since the old city was declared a site of world cultural heritage by UNESCO in 1986, several Syrian and international organisations - such as the Agha Khan Trust for Culture, the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development and the German GTZ agency - work for its conservation.
Recent History

Today the major local industries are silk-weaving and cotton-printing. Products from the surrounding area include wool, hides, dried fruits and, particularly, pistachios - for which Aleppo is justly famous. Aleppo was named by the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) as the capital of Islamic culture in 2006.

The city is beautiful and the people were once again very helpful. While we were there we toured the Citadel. The Citadel is amazing! It is literally like a fort. My friends and I randomly walked everywhere and the Syrian Children climbed the buildings like it was a jungle course (hmm we did too:)). The citadel has a large moat and towers over the city. It was a main base during the 12th century Crusades and then was re-strengthened during the Mamluk period.

The next day we took a day trip to visit the Basilica of St. Simeon and the dead city Serjilla. The Basilica overlooks farm land, and is amazing. Most of the structures are intact and the broken columns are overgrown with grass. St. Simeon was one of Syria's most eccentric Christians. In AD 423 Simeon climbed to the top of a 30 M pillar and went to spend 36 years on top of it and other pillars. He wanted to be away from civilization and closer to God, but he attracted more attention because pilgrims came to visit him and ask him questions about life. He also wore a chain around his neck to prevent him from plummeting to his death. After his death (I'm not sure what the cause was) a church was built in his memory.

My friends and I happened to go visit the Basilica the same day as a school field trip. So like my trip to Yemen, I have thousands of pictures of kids!


Later that day we had our driver take us to the dead city of Serjilla. It is an ancient city that almost completely intact, but all the people were gone. Its worth seeing but I think my friends and I had more fun with our driver. He is a really nice guy and he brought his wife along. They later invited us to their house and to meet the rest of their family. It was nice to be in a home for a little while:)

Syria