Ancient Aleppo (Aleppo)

Member Name: llamass

Product:	Aleppo
Date:	28/05/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great shopping in the bustling souq

Disadvantages: Noisy and crowded, one of Syria's more conservative cities so be respectful

The ancient city of Aleppo is the second largest in Syria and situated in the north of the country close to the Turkish border. The city is situated in a bowl-crater amongst a scrub desert landscape.

Most tourists will spend their time in the old city although the city also has a large, rather sprawling new city around the centre. The old city, however, is evocative enough to compensate for any fume-filled battling to get there. The city is known for it's souq which has 30 km woth of stone arch covered passages- even in Syria, a country with many markets and souqs, this is by far the most colourful, large and fun that you will find. Olive soap is a specialty of the region and does make your skin feel soft and cared for-I would recommend trying it.

The citadel is the city's landmark and huge fortress on a hill dominates the centre. Although a structure has existed for millenia, the current one dates from the 13th century and can only be entered from it's south gate. Inside it is possible to appreciate the strength from the huge stones and the constantly turning passages (designed to confuse attackers, now they can do the same to tourists). The Great Mosque, a highly decorative and spiritual building, has been built on a former Hellenic Temple as is by far the most impressive religious building in the city.

A break from the city as well as being a fascinating story, St. Simeon Church or Qalaat Samaan is around 60 km outside Aleppo. A beautiful ruined church is on site to commemorate the act of St. Simeon who sat atop a column for 37 years in order to get closer to God. Unfortunately the column itself is now a small stump and so some imagination is necessary to transform the place from an ordniary church. The Church is well preserved and a nice place to walk around contemplating the story of Simeon. it is difficult to reach here without a tour as there is no public transport but most hotels, hostels and agencies can organise the trip for very reasonable prices on a day trip from Aleppo.

Aleppo has an international airport that connects to many other destinations in the Middle East and has internal flights to Damascus also. There is also a train line that sees the twice weekly service stopping on it's way between Istanbul and Damascus. The most common way to get in and away is by bus with connections all over the country and across the border to Antioch in Turkey too.

Summary: Interesting city with a long history