Middle East - Anthony Ham [419]
If you’re eager to learn more, check out the project’s website (www.gtz-oldaleppo.org). We also highly recommend a visit to Al-Shibani School (below), one of the buildings reinvigorated by the project, and which hosts an exhibition entitled ‘The Rehabilitation of the Old City of Aleppo’.
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Opposite the western entrance of the mosque, the Madrassa Halawiyya (Map) was built in 1245 as a former theological college on the site of what was the 6th-century Cathedral of St Helen. The prayer hall incorporates all that remains of the cathedral, a semicircular row of six columns with intricately decorated, acanthus-leaved capitals. The cathedral was seized by the Muslims in 1124 in response to atrocities committed by the Crusaders. The Madrassa was undergoing restoration work when we visited, but remained open.
South of the main souq, the splendid 16th-century Al-Shibani School (Map; 331 9270; Al Jaloum quarter; admission free; 9am-4pm Wed-Mon) houses a permanent exhibition, which details the work underway to make the city more liveable. For more information see boxed text, above.
Towards the bottom of Souq al-Nahaseen, just before it becomes Sharia Bab Qinnesrin,a short passageway leads to Al-Adliyya Mosque (Map), built in 1555 and one of the city’s major Ottoman-era mosques. It’s worth a quick look inside for the fine tiling.
Heading south, follow your nose to Al-Joubaili Soap Factory (Map), ages old and still producing soaps the traditional way using olive oil and bay laurel. At the time of research it was closed to the public.
Directly across the street, behind railings, is the splendid Bimaristan Arghan (Map), one of the most enchanting buildings in Aleppo. Dating from the 14th century, it was converted from a house into an asylum. The main entrance gives access to a beautifully kept courtyard with a central pool overhung by greenery.
CITADEL
Sitting atop a huge, manmade, earthen mound east of the Old City, the citadel (Map; adult/student S£150/10; 9am-6pm Wed-Mon Apr-Sep, to 4pm Wed-Mon Oct-Mar) dominates the city skyline. The first fortifications were built by the Seleucids (364–333 BC), but everything seen today dates from much later. The citadel served as a power base for the Muslims during the 12th-century Crusades, when the moat, 20m deep and 30m wide, was dug. Much rebuilding and strengthening occurred during Mamluk rule from 1250 to 1517 and it’s largely their work that survives.
On the southern side, its moat is spanned by a step-bridge that then climbs at a 45-degree angle to the imposing 12th-century fortified gate. As you climb up, it’s easy to imagine just how the citadel’s defenders were able to hold out against invaders; attacking armies would have been dangerously exposed on the bridge, as they confronted the massive fortifications of the gate, and the twisting entrance of five right-angled turns inside the gate made storming the structure a complicated task.
Once inside, the castle is largely in ruins, although the throne room, above the entrance, has been lavishly restored. On your right as you climb up through the ruins, note the Ayyubid Palace dating from the 13th century – it has a soaring entrance portal with stalactite stone decoration. To the rear of the palace is a recently renovated Mamluk-era hammam.
Back on the main path, off to the left is the small 12th-century Mosque of Abraham, attributed to Nureddin and one of several legendary burial places for the head of John the Baptist. Atop the hill, at the citadel’s northern end, there’s a sparsely endowed museum (S£75) in an Ottoman-era barracks, which is next to the café and Great Mosque.
Although the ruins themselves are interesting to pick your way