About Aleppo

Aleppo is Syria’s largest urban area with a population of more than 2.1 million. The sections below give a brief introduction on the City.

Location

Aleppo is situated in northern Syria, about a hundred kilometers away from the Mediterranean cost in the west and 50 kilometers from the Turkish border to the north.

The city lies within a network of smaller settlements of mostly agricultural character. There are fertile grounds close to the city, particularly in the South along the river Quweik as well as in the North. West winds are prevalent, carrying cool air from the coast and mountains.

History

Aleppo is one of the Levantine cities that vie for the title: "the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world". It has been populated for 8 millennia at least. History reveals that it first came to light in the Middle Bronze Age as the center of an Amorite kingdom. By the passage of the arrow of time the city became a crossroad for all subsequent civilizations and consequently it developed into a pulsing urban center.

The city's location allowed it to become a major trading place on the Silk Road, as it sat at the crossroads of two trade routes; the route from India, Tigris, and the Euphrates, and the route coming from Damascus in the South.

This strategic location along with topography, agriculture, and an industrious population all rendered Aleppo a vibrant trading center dominating much of the ancient world's trade in the area.

The city and her environs are dotted with monuments and archeological remains that illustrate the architecture and lifestyles of the city's consecutive civilizations. The 355 hectares old city of Aleppo and its magnificent citadel exhibit a premium example of an affluent traditional Islamic settlement. Moreover, the city manifests varied imported western architectural styles of the early and mid 20th century. This amalgamation created a unique cultural mosaic of outstanding universal values from the point of view of history, art, and science; that caused the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee to designate the Old City as a world heritage cultural site.

For more information on the evolution of the city's built environment, please follow this link.

Economy

Aleppo is Syria's largest urban area with a population of more than 2.1 million; it is the country's dominant manufacturing center, with a share of 50 percent or more of manufacturing employment, plus an even greater export share.  Its economy is driven by textiles, pharmaceutics, agro-processing, tourism, and engineering.

Useful Links

Photos

Aleppo is a city that boasts interesting vistas. Its joy of exploration has enthused a lot of photographers over the years. In this section you can enjoy selected images of Aleppo taken by photographers from all over the world. The photos are linked with the photographers pages on Flickr website.

Maps