Aleppo Syria

Aleppo Citadel sits on a tel or mound and it was set up in the 10th century . It was built to stop arrows coming in from above. It is a magnificent site, beyond the wall it is huge, nearly half a kilometer in diameter. The palace of Aleppo was built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and was declared a world heritage site by unesco. The throne room in palace has been lovingly restored to its former grandeur. The view from the ramparts look over the city of Aleppo and you can see all the complex details of a living thriving city in Syria.

A middle eastern hamam is a bath house and much more. You can have a sauna and get rinsed by a friend with water. All men are equal in the hamam. In the hamam there is an air of reverance, it is a place of cleansing. There are separate times for men and women - days for men - some days for women or afternoons for women , mornings for men. The women will talk and gossip and relax and be free. They can find a wife for their son and get a good massage all at the same time.

Saladin's castle is near aleppo. Saladin was the warrior sultan who fought the crusaders. He was a military genius and a doctor . His kurdish people came to Aleppo and become established there after a few generations. Saladin was sent to the sufis to be educated and they taught him to be compassionate. Saladin's castle lays on the side of a deep ravine. It is a very beautiful place. The main entrance had a drawbridge. The building came from byzantine and later times. Some of the castle doors had 2 doors and when the outer one was broached the second one had then to be broken through as well. It was built in an arch and all the load and strength came from the arched walls and roofs. At 32 Saladin became the sultan of syria and egypt. He commanded many soldiers and made a tough reputation against the invaders, the crusading knights. The people of Syria are friendly and charming. Syria is at once ancient and modern.

Aleppo Syria Resources

Monuments of Syria - Only a handful of sites are familiar from travel literature: the Roman desert city of Palmyra, the Crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers, and the great Ummayad Mosque of Damascus. This is the definitive historical guide to Syria.

Lonely planet - Syria and Lebanon - Sunlight on the ancient stones of Palmyra and Baalbek, the bustle of the Aleppo souq, the buzz of Beirut's nightlife, the decorative wonders of Damascene houses and picturesque villages beneath Mt Lebanon.

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