Citadel of Aleppo

Start at the foot of the great slope. Pale stone rises at a steep angle above you, smooth and tilted, like the side of a giant ramp. Below it lies a wide, dry ditch. Above it, walls and towers run along the crest of the hill. Around you, the old city spreads out in low roofs, domes and minarets. Pause here for a moment, before you climb. This hill has held people, gods and armies for thousands of years.

Welcome to the Citadel of Aleppo. It sits on a large oval mound at the heart of the old city. Part of the hill is natural rock. The rest built up slowly, layer upon layer, as one settlement rose on the ruins of the last. Archaeologists believe people have used this hilltop since at least the third millennium before the Common Era. That makes this one of the oldest continuously important places in the region. Aleppo itself is often called one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.

Here is a first surprise. Long before the fortress, this hill held a temple. Excavations on the summit uncovered a sanctuary of the Storm God. He was the great weather god of the ancient Near East, called Hadad by some peoples. Archaeologists found carved basalt reliefs there. Basalt is a dark volcanic stone. The carvings show gods, mythical creatures and figures in procession. For a very long time, people came up this hill to pray, not to fight.

The hill also has a story of its own. Legend has it that the prophet Abraham rested here with his flocks. Locals say he milked his cows on the hilltop and gave the milk to the poor. According to this popular tale, the Arabic name of the city, Halab, comes from the word for milk. Scholars debate the true origin of the name. But the story is old and well loved. A small shrine linked to Abraham still stands inside the walls.

Now look again at that sloping stone surface. It is called a glacis, a smooth defensive slope. Its job was simple. Attackers could not find footholds on it, and they could not easily dig under the walls. The deep ditch at its base added a second barrier. Much of what you see dates from the medieval period. In those centuries, Aleppo was a frontier city, and it faced Crusader armies and rival rulers.

The most important builder of that era was al-Zahir Ghazi. He was a son of Saladin, the famous sultan who fought the Crusaders. Al-Zahir ruled Aleppo around the turn of the thirteenth century. He strengthened the defences, reworked the slope and the ditch, and built palaces and water systems inside. He also built the long bridge that you will cross. Under his rule, the citadel became both a fortress and a royal home.

Walk up toward the entrance. The bridge climbs on tall arches across the ditch. At the top, the great gate block rises like a wall of stone. Most of this entrance belongs to the Mamluk period, the era of sultans who ruled Egypt and Syria in later medieval times. Look up at the gate before you pass under it. Openings above the doorway allowed defenders to drop missiles on anyone below.

Here is the second surprise. The path inside is not straight. It turns sharply, again and again. This design is called a bent entrance. An attacker who broke through the first door could not charge ahead. He had to slow down at every corner, often under attack from above. In the passages, look for carved stone panels above some of the doorways. Some show pairs of animals, such as serpents or lions. They were meant to protect the gate.

The defences did not always hold. In 1260, Mongol armies took Aleppo and caused great destruction. In 1400, the forces of the conqueror Timur sacked the city again. Each time, later rulers repaired and rebuilt the walls. Earthquakes also struck this region many times. A major earthquake in 1822 badly damaged the city and the citadel. So the stones around you show many centuries of damage and repair, one layer over another.

Inside the walls, the summit opens up like a small town. There are paths, ruined houses, cisterns and storerooms. Two mosques stand on the hill. One is linked to Abraham. The other has a tall, square minaret from the Ayyubid period, the dynasty of Saladin and his sons. Nearby, you will find the remains of the Ayyubid palace. Its entrance has a deep doorway with muqarnas — carved stone shapes that look like honeycomb or hanging cells.

Back near the gate, above the main passage, is the Throne Hall. This large room dates from the Mamluk era. In the twentieth century, restorers gave it a rich painted wooden ceiling. From its windows, rulers could look out across the whole city. On the summit, you may also notice a modern open-air theatre. It was added in the late twentieth century for concerts and performances. Old and new sit close together here.

The citadel is part of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986. Recent history has been hard on this place. During the Syrian war in the 2010s, fierce fighting took place around the hill. Parts of the walls, the gate and the old city below were damaged. The earthquake of 2023 caused further harm. Restoration work has taken place in stages. As you walk, you may see new stone beside old stone, and areas that are still closed.

Before you leave, find a spot on the walls that looks out over the city. Below you, the covered markets, called souks, run through the old streets. Further out, you can see newer districts. Listen for the call to prayer, traffic, voices and birds. Then walk back down the bridge slowly. Look once more at that smooth, steep slope. Generations of people built, lost and rebuilt it — and the hill is still here, at the centre of Aleppo.