Editing Aleppo (section)

===Historical sites===
{{Main|Ancient City of Aleppo}}

====Souqs and khans====
{{Main|Al-Madina Souq}}
[[File:Aleppo suq - GAR - 7-06.jpg|thumb|A shop in [[al-Madina Souq]] displaying [[Aleppo soap]] products, 2004]]
[[File:Aleppo-suq-Alp.JPG|thumb|Ancient Aleppo, [[Al-Madina Souq]]]]
The city's strategic trading position attracted settlers of all races and beliefs who wished to take advantage of the commercial roads that met in Aleppo from as far as China and [[Mesopotamia]] to the east, Europe to the west, and the [[Fertile Crescent]] and [[Egypt]] to the south. The largest covered [[souq]]-market in the world is in Aleppo, with an approximate length of {{cvt|13|km|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=round&filename=201010291220021 |title=eAleppo: The old Souqs of Aleppo (in Arabic) |publisher=Esyria.sy |access-date=11 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330131845/http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=round&filename=201010291220021 |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Forbes, Andrew, and Henley, David, ''[http://www.cpamedia.com/article.php?pg=archive&acid=120601100823&aiid=120601101137 Aleppo's Great Bazaar] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823085443/http://www.cpamedia.com/article.php?pg=archive&acid=120601100823&aiid=120601101137 |date=23 August 2014 }}''</ref>

''[[Al-Madina Souq]]'', as it is locally known, is an active trade centre for imported luxury goods, such as raw silk from [[Iran]], spices and dyes from India, and coffee from [[Damascus]]. Souq al-Madina is also home to local products such as wool, agricultural products and soap. Most of the souqs date back to the 14th century and are named after various professions and crafts, hence the wool souq, the copper souq, and so on. Aside from trading, the souq accommodated the traders and their goods in ''khans'' ([[caravanserai]]s) and scattered in the souq. Other types of small market-places were called ''caeserias'' (ﻗﻴﺴﺎﺭﻳﺎﺕ). Caeserias are smaller than khans in their sizes and functioned as workshops for craftsmen. Most of the khans took their names after their location in the souq and function, and are characterized by their façades, entrances and fortified wooden doors.

====Gates of Aleppo and other historic buildings====
[[File:Antioch gate in Aleppo walls.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bab Antakeya|Gate of Antioch]] rebuilt during the 11th century]]
The old part of the city is surrounded with {{cvt|5|km|mi|adj=mid|-long}}, thick walls, pierced by the nine historical gates (many of them are well-preserved) of the old town. These are, clockwise from the north-east of the citadel:

*[[Bab al-Hadid]], [[Bab al-Ahmar]], [[Bab al-Nairab]], [[Bab al-Maqam]], [[Bab Qinnasrin]], [[Bab Antakeya]], [[Bāb Jnēn]], [[Bab al-Faraj (Aleppo)|Bab al-Faraj]] and [[Bab al-Nasr (Aleppo)|Bab al-Nasr]].

The most significant historic buildings of the ancient city include:
*[[Citadel of Aleppo|The Citadel]], a large fortress built atop a huge, partially artificial mound rising {{cvt|50|m}} above the city, dates back to the first millennium BC. Recent excavations unearthed a temple and 25 statues dating back to the first millennium BC.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?articleid=80968&l=2 |title=Aleppo&nbsp;... Cultural Landmark, Trade Hub |agency=Xinhua News Agency |publisher=DP-news |date=16 April 2011 |access-date=11 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029010341/http://www.dp-news.com/en/detail.aspx?articleid=80968 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many of the current structures date from the 13th century. The Citadel had been extensively damaged by earthquakes, notably in 1822.
*[[Al-Shibani Church|Al-Shibani building]], [[al-Halawiyah Madrasa]], [[al-Muqaddamiyah Madrasa]], [[al-Zahiriyah Madrasa]], [[al-Sultaniyah Madrasa]], [[al-Firdaws Madrasa]], Bimaristan Arghun al-Kamili, [[Beit Junblatt]], [[Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower]], etc.

[[File:Aleppo Night by Charles Hajj.jpg|left|thumb|[[Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower]]]]

The following are among the important historic mansions of [[al-Jdayde]] Christian quarter:<ref>{{cite web |title=Ministry of Tourism, Syria: Aleppine House (in Arabic) |url=http://www.syriatourism.org/index.php?module=subjects&func=viewpage&pageid=2081 |access-date=22 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716101034/http://www.syriatourism.org/index.php?module=subjects&func=viewpage&pageid=2081 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*''Beit Wakil'', an Aleppine mansion built in 1603, with unique wooden decorations. One of its decorations was taken to [[Berlin]] and exhibited in the [[Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin|Museum of Islamic Art]], known as the ''[[Aleppo Room]]''.
*''[[Beit Achiqbash]]'', an old Aleppine house built in 1757. The building is home to the ''Popular Traditions Museum'' since 1975, showing fine decorations of the Aleppine art.
*''[[Beit Ghazaleh]]'', an old 17th-century mansion characterized with fine decorations, carved by the Armenian sculptor ''Khachadur Bali'' in 1691. It was used as an Armenian elementary school during the 20th century.

====Places of worship====
[[File:Great Mosque of Aleppo, Aleppo, Syria.jpg|thumb|The courtyard of the Great Mosque of Aleppo]]
[[File:Al-Shibani Alp8.JPG|thumb|[[Al-Shibani Church|Al-Shibani building]]]]
*[[Great Mosque of Aleppo]] (Jāmi' Bani Omayya al-Kabīr), founded {{Circa|715}} by Umayyad caliph [[Walid I]] and most likely completed by his successor [[Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik|Sulayman]]. The building contains a tomb associated with [[Zechariah (priest)|Zachary]], father of [[John the Baptist]]. Construction of the present structure for Nur al-Din commenced in 1158. However, it was damaged during the [[Mongol]] invasion of 1260 and was rebuilt. The {{cvt|45|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} tower (described as "the principal monument of medieval Syria")<ref name="Burns 1999 35">{{cite book |first=Russ |last=Burns |title=Monuments of Syria |url=https://archive.org/details/monumentsofsyria0000burn |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/monumentsofsyria0000burn/page/35 35] |year=1999 |location=New York, London |isbn=9781860642449}}</ref> was erected in 1090–1092 under the first Seljuk sultan, [[Tutush I]]. It had four façades with different styles. The tower was completely destroyed during the Syrian civil war in March 2013 (reported on 24 March 2013).
*[[Al-Nuqtah Mosque]] ("Mosque of the drop [of blood]"), a [[Shia|Shī'ah]] mosque, which contains a stone said to be marked by a drop of [[Husayn ibn Ali|Husayn]]'s blood. The site is believed to have previously been a monastery, which was converted into a mosque in 944.
*[[Al-Shuaibiyah Mosque]], [[Al-Qaiqan Mosque]], [[Mahmandar Mosque]], [[Altun Bogha Mosque]], [[Al-Sahibiyah Mosque]], [[Bahsita Mosque]], [[Al-Tawashi Mosque]], [[Al-Otrush Mosque]], [[Al-Saffahiyah Mosque]], [[Khusruwiyah Mosque]], [[Al-Adiliyah Mosque]], [[Bahramiyah Mosque]], etc.
*Churches of al-Jdayde quarter: the [[Forty Martyrs Cathedral|Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Cathedral]], the [[Church of the Dormition of Our Lady|Dormition of Our Lady]] Greek Orthodox church, [[Mar Assia al-Hakim Church|Mar Assia al-Hakim Syrian Catholic church]], the [[Saint Elijah Cathedral, Aleppo|Maronite Cathedral of Saint Elijah]], the Armenian Catholic Cathedral of Our Mother of Reliefs and the Melkite Greek Catholic Cathedral of Virgin Mary.
*[[Central Synagogue of Aleppo]] or al-Bandara synagogue, dating to the 9th century. The synagogue was destroyed during an anti-Jewish pogrom in 1947.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-as-pogroms-targeted-aleppo-s-jews-my-family-made-a-dangerous-choice-to-flee-1.9828957 |title=As Pogroms Targeted Aleppo's Jews, My Family Made a Dangerous Choice: To Flee |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=23 June 2021 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622103449/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-as-pogroms-targeted-aleppo-s-jews-my-family-made-a-dangerous-choice-to-flee-1.9828957 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 1980s, the building was restored, but destroyed again during the civil war.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://imageusa.com/restoring-the-great-synagogue-of-aleppo/ |title=Rstoring the Great Synagogue of Aleppo |date=7 November 2019 |access-date=23 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203138/https://imageusa.com/restoring-the-great-synagogue-of-aleppo/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Hammams====
[[File:Hammam Al-Nahhasseen Aleppo.jpg|thumb|[[Hammam al-Nahhasin]]]]
Aleppo was home to 177 [[Turkish bath|hammams]] during the medieval period until the Mongol invasion, when many of the prominent structures of the city were destroyed. Before the civil war, 18 hammams were operating in the old city, including:
*[[Hammam al-Nahhasin]] built during the 12th century near khan al-Nahhaseen.
*Hammam al-Sultan built in 1211 by [[Az-Zahir Ghazi]].
*Hammam al-Bayadah of the Mamluk era built in 1450.
*[[Hammam Yalbugha]] built in 1491 by the [[List of rulers of Aleppo|Emir of Aleppo]] Saif ad-Din Yalbugha al-Naseri.<ref>{{cite book |title=Syria & Lebanon |last1=Carter |first1=Terry |last2=Dunston |first2=Lara |last3=Humphreys |first3=Andrew |year=2004 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-86450-333-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781864503333/page/186 186] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781864503333 |url-access=registration |access-date=12 October 2015}}</ref>
*Hammam al-Jawhary, hammam Azdemir, hammam Bahram Pasha, hammam Bab al-Ahmar, etc.

As a city with an ancient architectural style characterized by covered markets, khans, baths, and schools, in addition to mosques and churches, the city is an archaeological treasure in need of continuous care and maintenance. The city was significantly replanned after the end of World War II. In 1954, an architectural plan was adopted by the French architect André Guitton, who proposed the construction of several wide avenues through the city to accommodate the entry of cars. Between 1954 and 1983, many old neighborhoods were demolished under this pretext for expansion, particularly in the northern areas such as Bab al-Faraj and Bab Janin. However, growing awareness of the importance of these buildings ultimately led to the cancellation of Guitton's plan in 1979 and its replacement by a plan by the Swiss urban engineer Stefano Bianco, who launched the idea of preserving the ancient urban fabric of Old Aleppo. This paved the way for UNESCO to include the Old City of Aleppo on the World Heritage List in 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-07 |title=موقع حلب - مخططات "حلب" التنظيمية عبر التاريخ |url=http://esyria.sy/sites/code/index.php?site=aleppo&p=stories&category=misc&filename=201009251220032 |access-date=2025-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007050846/http://esyria.sy/sites/code/index.php?site=aleppo&p=stories&category=misc&filename=201009251220032 |archive-date=7 October 2019 }}</ref>