Historical city of Aleppo
Aleppo , in northern Syria, is known for its towering citadel and the biggest covered souk (market place) in the Middle East. Situated on the crossroads of several important trade routes, Aleppo was known as the "Great Syrian Passage" because it strategically connected Mesopotamia and Persia to the Mediterranean Sea. About 350 km away from Damascus, the capital city, Aleppo is about 8000 years old The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the center of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamluks, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period. An extensive conservation work took place in the 2000s by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in collaborati...