Modern Aleppo and other Aleppo, Syria Off The Beaten Path Tips

As one of the world's oldest inhabited cities, Aleppo's historical tourism assets are just amazing (and many are said to remain undiscovered). If you're overwhelmed by the amount of historical attractions, try walking around the modern parts of the city to get a better feel of what everyday Syrian life is about - and to meet some of the friendliest people in the planet. You'd be surprised to know that many of them understand and speak English, and are always happy to take the time off for a short chat.

A good place to wonder about is the shopping areas around Sharia Baron and Bab al-Faraj. Lined with shops selling mainly footwear and clothes, there are also interesting vignettes of modern Aleppine life like this very intriguing movie being shown in one of the cinemas (see picture - someone please translate). There is also a large open-air shopping plaza along Sharia Baron (I don't know the name of the place) with a beautiful modern mosque and an abstract steel sculpture with a fountain. It's a good place to have friendly chats with Aleppo's well-groomed and well-read locals.

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Just outside the Christian quarters of Al Jdeida, Sharia al-Tilal and its surrounding areas present yet another take on daily Aleppine life. True to Aleppo's image as a city of merchants (and consumers), the street is lined with shops catering mainly to local demand for clothes, fashion accessories and shoes. A walk along this road provides yet another glimpse of the Aleppine penchant for dressing well and looking good. I find the shops with half-basements as interesting, reminding me of their counterparts in Bangalore, India and in the Philippines, circa 1970s-80s.

The area is also endowed with interesting colonial architecture, as well some old buildings sporting some Ottoman influence - again, reminders of the city's rich historical past.

This interesting stretch of road is sandwiched by two of Aleppo's affluent neighborhoods - Al Jdeida and Al Azizieh. From Bab al-Faraj across the Sheraton hotel, take the main Sharia Al Tilal street just go with the flow of shoppers and cart-pushing deliverymen.

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