Aleppo Before the War

*I was fortunate enough to travel to Syria and see the country in 2008, three years before the war broke out. This homage to Syria is a reminder, a story about the country with immense cultural heritage, posted here with the wholehearted wish for peace to be restored and cities rebuilt.

Welcome to the post about Aleppo before the war, the town that we only viewed from above from the Aleppo Syria Citadel in the previous article of this Syria travel series.

During the rule of the sultan Nur ad Din the great bazaar of Aleppo was reconstructed, the market this town was widely known for before the recent war. This was the covered Oriental souk where people came to trade, buy and sell goods in a manner that have kept the city alive so many centuries.

Aleppo Before the War

Spices, perfumes, textile, silk, carpets, jewelry, etc. remained almost the same and while I was walking by those lined up stalls and shops in 2008, I began to feel as if I was coming out of the time-machine!

Every merchant tried to stop us to consider his stall, regardless to the goods he was selling, be it pistachios or gold.

There were only a few of them “not that interested“ who were relaxing on the top of the pile of sacks or were dozing behind their counters. But one has to prepared to immerse into deafening noise, crowds of merchants who loudly advertised their goods, and haggling all the way through. Only by the tone of the voice I heard behind, I was able to notice that someone was trying to warn me about a bike coming straight at me or a full cart man was trying to push through the narrow passage with goods „for a good price“, and as always, „just as made for me“.

Aleppo Grand Bazaaar

It was easy to spot Syrians in the crowds because they knew what they came for, they were haggling, buying things, all relaxed and confident, while I was just wandering around and didn’t even recognize all the stuff I saw, and the moment I stopped to take a second look, I felt like caught up in the web. It was kind of embarrassing not to buy anything after the guy has put such an effort into displaying all of his goods before me, even if it turned out that I (a girl) bought a traditional remedy “for male impotence“.

The deeper I went into the souk, the narrower those passages became, and there was less daylight coming through. Among the sections of the souk there was one „specialized“ in meat, not that pleasant to see with all those sheep heads hanging around. I even felt a little dizzy. Still, I  had to keep in mind that the exit was not that far and that I would come out to the Citadel surroundings once again.

Another Drinking Fountain?

Aleppo before the war was not just the town of the old souk and ancient fortress, it had a modern district as well where you could come across expensive stores as anywhere else in the world. This was where Syrians came for a walk in the evenings.

Nevertheless, one just had to notice that there were parts of Aleppo before the war which were just too neglected and ruined. One of the streets I went through was full of old charming buildings. There might have been some French influence here with typical Arabic ornaments. But, these constructions seemed like they would down right then and there in front of your eyes.

That didn’t stop people who lived there to use what was left of the facilities. People just adapted to various circumstances, as they do anywhere else in the world. And so I was greeted by a cute, smiling boy who was sitting at his ruined terrace without a fence. It seemed like he was cooling down up there.

 

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You couldn’t help but notice the town‘s heavy traffic and a lot of people driving small colorful trucks. For those who get thirsty, there were drinking fountains at every corner.

They were somewhat improvised taps with tin pots chained to them. But if you were not that thirsty, bottled water was always an option and easy to find in any store on the way.

A Selfie or Two

One more thing one had to notice in Aleppo before the war. People were genuinely pleasant and spent a lot of time outdoors. They used to bring out a chair or two, sit on the curb and chat. People from nearby stores were hanging out together. A few girls came out of a nearby school courtyard, all dressed in black abayas.

They pulled me into one of the courtyards to take a selfie or two, giggling all the time. I guess that my bright (not covered) hair was interesting to them as much as their abayas were to me. I still cherish those photos.

In various alcohol free cafes there were nicely dressed young men and women, chatting and having coffee and narghile. Guys selling coffee on the street was also to be seen, just like in Damascus. There was a beautiful mosque near the souk and lots of things to buy along the way – from vine leaves, neatly packed, to donuts that the guy just kept „watering“ for some reason.

Next: MAALOULA SYRIA, THE OLD CHRISTIAN VILLAGE

The full Homage to Syria SERIES