Aleppo Things to Do Tips by iwys

Aleppo's citadel is the biggest in the world. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It stands atop an imposing hill just to the east of the old city and commands spectacular views over all of Aleppo.

This site has been important for at least 3,000 years. The first major structure built here was a temple dating back to the 10th century BC. The first fortifications were erected by the Seleucids around 350 BC. The citadel was a mliitary headquarters for the Muslims during the 12th century in their wars with the Crusaders, and its defenses were strengthened during this period with a moat and with stone cladding on the lower slopes of the hill. Further fortifications were added by the Mamluks from the 13th to 16th centuries. The citadel was only successfully stormed once in its history, by Tamerlane's Mongol army in 1400.

Today the massive walls encircling the citadel present an imposing sight as you crane your neck to look up at them.

You enter the citadel across an entrance bridge over the now dry moat. You then climb a passageway through a monumental gateway. Inside the citadel there are numerous buildings, including a palace, two mosques and an amphitheatre.

Opening hours: winter 9am-4pm, summer 9am-6pm. Closed Tuesdays.

Admission: S�150.

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national museum: National Museum

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Updated by iwys

on Apr 5, 2007

In the summer of 2006 the museum was underging extensive renovation, so in places it was a bit like wandering around a building site, dotted with antiquities. Hopefully, when you visit, the work will have been completed, the airconditioning will be working again and all of the exhibits will be on display.

In spite of the dust and heat inside, I found this museam fascinating, because it contained statues and artefacts from many of the archaeological sites I had visited around Syria. Of special interest was the first hall which contains many exhibits from Ugarit, including statuettes, weapons, bronze and gold figurines and jewellery, and the third hall, which has the black basalt friezes from the base of the Hittite temple at Ain Dara. There are also Byzantine mosaics.

Opening hours:summer 9am-5.30pm; winter 9am-3.30pm

Admission: S�300

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Things To Do: Al Qiqan Mosque

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on Apr 5, 2007

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Al- Qaiqan Mosque, or Crows' Mosque, is just opposite Bab Antakya. Two basalt columns, originally part of a Hittite temple, are built into the front wall, either side of the entrance. A stone block from the 14th century BC, bearing a Hittite inscription, also used to be part of the wall, but it has since been removed. Most of the current building is from the early Ottoman period.

It is quite possible that people have been worshipping on this spot for at least 3,400 years: another reminder that Aleppo is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

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citadel: The Monumental Gateway

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on Apr 5, 2007

The monumental gateway to the citadel is a magnificent structure. It was built during the Ayyubid period by Saladin's son, Al Zaher Ghazi. Following the Mongol invasion of 1260, it was repaired by Sultan Ashraf Khalil. Then in the 16th century the throne room was added between the two towers.

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Umayyad Mosque: Great Mosque

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Updated by iwys

on Apr 17, 2007

Aleppo's Great Mosque or Al Jamaa al Kebir, has several alternative names, including, confusingly, like its twin mosque in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque. The Great Mosque was built between 705 and 715 AD, making it just 10 years' younger than the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, which it looks very similar to.

The mosque is arranged into a rectangle of about 150m x 100m ,with a large courtyard in the middle . There is a gate in each of the four sides allowing access into the mosque through the courtyard, apart from the eastern gate which connects straight to the prayer hall.

Foreign visitors are charged a small admission fee, but are free to wander anywhere inside the mosque and take photos.

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souqs: The souk

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on Apr 5, 2007

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Aleppo's covered souk is one of the oldest in the Middle East. Parts of it date back to the thirteenth century, although much of what you see today was built in the Ottoman era.

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souqs: Bab Antakya

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on Apr 5, 2007

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The thirteenth century Bab Antakya, or Antioch Gate, is the main entrance to the covered souk and it was the western gate to the old, walled city of Aleppo. This was, for centuries, the gateway to Aleppo's main street, including the Roman decumanus. It is believed that a Roman triumphal arch once stood here.

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citadel: The Throne Room

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on Apr 5, 2007

The throne room above the monumental gateway of the citadel is the most beautiful room in Aleppo. Originally built in the 15th century, it was restored in the 1970s.

The throne room is on the second floor of the monumetal gateway. It measures 30 square meters. An octagon is raised in the center of the flat ceiling to allow light through the twenty-four stained glass windows. The ceiling is finished with carved and painted woodwork and plaster.

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hammams: Hammam al-Nahasin

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on Apr 5, 2007

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Hammam al-Nahasin, or Bathhouse of the Coppersmiths, is in the oldest part of Aleppo's covered souk, and dates back to the early thirteenth century. It was restored in 1985. It is now one of the most luxurious hammams in Aleppo, with a circular steam room under a domed roof.

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Umayyad Mosque: Minaret

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on Apr 5, 2007