"Citadel Plus Layers and Layers of ..." a Aleppo Travel Page by atufft

I'm certain that many an army arrived at the outskirts of the city, and after appraising the defenses of the Allepo Citadel, its general decided to return home instead of wage siege warfare. The Citadel stands on solid paved rock, it's ramparts far above the city, and it's ingenious series of defenses at the entrance gate rivals the best of any fortress in medieval Europe. Inside the Citadel's highest structures, tranquil meditation and prayer could continue undisturbed while war waged below. The current Aleppo citadel is essentially unchanged since some 16th century improvements to the entrance gate, save for wreckage caused an earthquake in 1822.

During the first Gulf War, so I suppose we had no real reason to fear the Assad government's secret police anyway, but in Aleppo the relaxed atmosphere suggests that this city is relatively independent of the politics that haunts the capital at Damascus. The slightly European feel to the city allows for some great hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. Don't get me wrong, this is still very much a Muslim city, but we felt that life was more open and accepting of tourists. We stayed at a classic old hotel and found other tourists with whom we shared a van out to the region known as Cities of the Dead.

Damascus has the more historically significant artifacts, but the fun collection of Aleppo is better displayed in a modern open building. There are great stone reliefs and mosaics from Arabic, Byzantine, Aramaic, and Hittite epochs in the city's history.