Things to Do in Aleppo, Syria

Quick facts: Walls more than 4,000 years old surround this massive keep, which was once a city within the city. The complex includes underground tunnels built for ventilation and escape in times of emergency.

Highlights: Inside, an impressive hall with 24 columns and ornate stone carvings tells stories from different epochs. From the citadel, there is a panoramic view over the whole city that is especially magical at sunset.

Quick facts: The winding alleys stretch over 14 kilometers with more than 2,200 shops. Merchants offer everything from spices and textiles to antique jewelry.

Highlights: A special charm lies in the unchanged architectural style from the 15th century, with hundreds of traditional hammams and historic caravanserais. At night lanterns light up and the bustle between narrow brick walls gives a feeling of time travel.

Quick facts: Here you find over 5,000 artifacts that illuminate the rich history of Aleppo and the entire region. The collection includes objects from the Stone Age to the Islamic era and displays the diversity of past cultures.

Highlights: A very special exhibit is the original cuneiform stamp from the time of the Sumerian civilization, which is an astonishing 4,000 years old. Visitors are often amazed by the well-preserved reliefs that depict scenes from everyday life in ancient Aleppo in great detail.

Quick facts: The citadel overlooks the city from a hilltop and offers a panoramic view reaching up to 5 kilometers. Despite numerous earthquakes, its massive walls up to 10 meters thick remarkably maintain their structure well.

Highlights: Inside, colorful mosaics and old inscriptions reveal details from the 13th century. Visitors can discover the secret tunnel that once served as an escape route and is nearly 50 meters long.

Quick facts: Khan al-Harir once functioned as a trading spot for silk, where merchants from all over the world exchanged their goods. The building has a large central courtyard system designed for a warm, dry environment.

Highlights: The courtyard has a fountain with elaborate mosaics that transform the water into a kaleidoscopic display of colors in sunlight. Merchants still offer traditional fabrics and handcrafted silk goods today, recalling past trading times.

Quick facts: Aleppo soap is made from olive oil and laurel oil and has been known for over 2,000 years for its skin care properties. The soap manufacturing techniques have remained unchanged over many generations, providing a direct insight into traditional production methods.

Highlights: In the museum, you can see an authentic reproduction of the ancient soap factory, where large copper kettles and hand-cut soap blocks tell stories spanning centuries. The air is filled with the natural scent of freshly made soaps, creating an authentic sensory experience.

Quick facts: Minaret leaning at a 4-degree angle from damage during the Syrian civil war. The mosque dates to the 13th century and houses a fragment believed to be from the original Kaaba curtain.

Highlights: Worshippers here still gather beneath a massive 500-year-old wooden ceiling held together entirely by wooden pegs, no nails at all. During Friday prayers, the imam's voice echoes through the stone courtyard just as it did seven centuries ago, carrying over the scent of orange trees planted by Ottoman governors.

Quick facts: The hotel hosted the famous British explorers T.E. Lawrence and Agatha Christie, who wrote parts of "Murder on the Orient Express" while staying there. Its striking Art Deco interior features an enormous stained-glass ceiling that survived decades of conflict largely intact.

Highlights: Under the grand central dome, a 1,000-square-meter stained-glass canopy casts kaleidoscopic light across the marble floors every afternoon. The hotel's once-abandoned basement hides a clandestine Cold War-era bomb shelter, complete with original ventilation shafts and faded political murals.