The Guardian | History of cities in 50 buildings, day 2 – Citadel of Aleppo

In the oldest city in the world, Aleppo’s historic citadel offers a poignant and ongoing narrative of the impact of war on a city’s development.

Until Syria’s current civil war, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture was mapping the Aleppo citadel and paying for conservation work. In the trust’s book, Syria: Media Citadels between East and West, Julia Gonnella describes how the sixth-century fortification failed to become a place of long-term refuge and settlement because of a lack of clean water.

Aleppo’s citadel in 2008: the Unesco World Heritage site has since suffered damage that will ‘only be open for proper assessment when the war is over’. Photograph: Jean-Baptiste Rabouan/Hemis.fr via The Guardian.
Aleppo’s citadel in 2008: the Unesco World Heritage site has since suffered damage that will ‘only be open for proper assessment when the war is over’. Photograph: Jean-Baptiste Rabouan/Hemis.fr via The Guardian.

The great citadel of Aleppo has the grim distinction of being the world’s only ancient fortress that is back in action today as a garrison and artillery battery in the midst of war.

Aleppo citadel used to be one of Syria’s major tourist attractions, designated as Unesco World Heritage sites, it has suffered untold damage which will only be open for proper assessment when the war is over.

The citadel of Aleppo pictured in 1993. In recent years the site has suffered untold damage, which can only be properly assessed when the war is over. Photograph: Frederic Soltan/Sygma/Corbis via The Guardian
The citadel of Aleppo pictured in 1993. In recent years the site has suffered untold damage, which can only be properly assessed when the war is over. Photograph: Frederic Soltan/Sygma/Corbis via The Guardian

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The Guardian | Syria’s war-scarred citadel of Aleppo: a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 2 – Aleppo

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