Ancient City of Aleppo, World Heritage Site in Syria

A crossroads of civilizations since ancient times, Aleppo has been ruled by many different countries. The Old City still retains a unique townscape with characteristics of each period, including the world’s oldest mosque and souk, castle, seminary, palace, caravanserai, and hammam, but many buildings were destroyed in the civil war and are now listed as a Crisis Heritage Site.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why Aleppo is a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner. Read this and you will definitely learn more about Aleppo!

What is the ancient city of Aleppo?

Aleppo, near the Turkish border, is Syria’s second largest city and is still home to many people today.It is believed that trade originally began here in 2000 BC. Later, Aleppo was ruled by the Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyubid, Mamluks, and Ottomans. The city is also known for being the capital during the Hamdanid period (890-1004).

The old city is still surrounded by walls built between the 12th and 14th centuries.The city is like a museum, with Roman sections still standing, the ruins of a 6th century Christian church, medieval walls, mosques and seminaries built between the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, and palaces from the Ottoman Empire.

Heritage in Crisis

Aleppo has been affected by the Syrian Civil War since 2011 and has been listed as a Crisis Heritage Site since 2013.

The main properties on the list are

Aleppo Castle

The castle stands on top of a temple believed to have been built in the 10th century BC. It was occupied by the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubs, and Mamluks, and remains from each period can be seen in this representative fortress of Aleppo. The present structure was mainly built in the 13th century during the Ayyub dynasty, and was maintained as a fortress. However, the walls and other structures were destroyed during the Syrian Civil War.

Al-Madina Souq

The oldest souk in the world, the original market is believed to have begun in the 1st century BC.T he interior of the souk is mainly covered by a canopy, making it look like a maze. Although a mosque, a seminary, and a hammam still remain, it is a living heritage site with many stores. However, due to the Syrian Civil War, a fire broke out in the souk and many stores were damaged.

The Great Mosque of Aleppo

Once built as a Christian cathedral, a mosque was built during the Umayyad period in the 8th century, which is considered to be the first mosque in the world.However, the Umayyad-era structure almost collapsed in the 12th century, and after that, it collapsed and was restored several times, and the present structure is based on the one built in the 11th to 14th centuries. However, due to the Syrian Civil War, the minarets and other structures built in the 11th century were destroyed in fierce fighting.

For what reason is the ancient city of Aleppo on the World Heritage List?

The Ancient City of Aleppo was recognized for

Registration Criteria (iii)
The Old City was one of the cities filled with diverse cultures and human history, as it was home to many different ethnic groups.

Registration Criteria (iv)
The point is that Aleppo is a masterpiece of 12th century Ayyub urban architecture and is also highly regarded as a military fortress.

Conclusions and Impressions of a World Heritage Maniac

Anyway, the Old City of Aleppo has so much history that it would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire city is a museum. And even today, the footprints left by the people of each period can still be seen in various parts of the city, but the prototype of the current Aleppo was built during the Ayyub dynasty.

However, the political instability in Syria in recent years has turned the city into a war zone. Many of the valuable architectural structures were destroyed, and although the city is now listed as a Heritage of Crisis site, it is still at a stage where it is difficult to grasp the current situation, so we can only hope that the day will come when everything will be restored to its former glory.

The contents of this page are based on the research conducted by a World Heritage enthusiast. As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the medium.