Citadel of Aleppo Syria

The city of Aleppo Syria is one of the oldest cities in the world and is an absolute gem full of ancient souks (markets), mosques, churches and some of the nicest people on earth.  In the heart of the city stand one of its largest, and oldest, landmarks…The Citadel of Aleppo.  This ancient castle/fort/palace is absolutely huge and stands right in the middle of the city.  The surrounding walls are massive and surround the inner courtyard which is full of numerous buildings some of which have been restored but many are so old that they have crumbled.  There is a beautiful old archway bridge that leads across a moat (no longer full of water) and into the commanding, and ornate, main entry gate.  Although exploring the interior of the Citadel was fascinating our favorite part was simply walking along its walls and looking across the fascinating city of Aleppo.  Because it is built upon a hill you can literally see across the entire city when standing on the walls.  Furthermore, the neighborhood surrounding the citadel (old Aleppo) is full of dense buildings, small streets and lots of activity.  Lindsay and I spent hours just walking along the walls, taking pictures and simply admiring the incredibly unique surroundings.  Another reason we loved the citadel was because of the large plaza that surrounded its main gate.  The building sits very near the cities incredible markets (souks) and the plaza essentially lies between the souks and the Citadel.  Because of this there is always activity and it is one of the locals favorite places to hang out.  Needless to say the “people watching” is fantastic.  There are numerous cafés that line the plaza which all offer open seating (facing the Citadel) underneath large canopies which is a welcome relief from the heat.  Each of these cafés will hire touts to try and bring you in.  Lindsay and I became masters at ignoring these touts but one day we noticed that there was an exceptionally happy tout who was working so hard trying to bring customers into the café.  He had the best smile and was trying so hard that Lindsay and I decided to reward his work by going into his café for a quick drink.  Once inside we simply sat at a table and drank our Diet Coke and enjoyed the people watching and the incredible view of the Citadel.  On another occasion we went down to the Citadel/plaza at night and were surrounded by numerous other local families enjoying the beautiful evening.  It was so fun to sit amongst them and simply stare at the beautiful citadel.  It was one of those “travel highs” to be hanging out with the locals in Aleppo Syria enjoying a beautiful Syrian summer night.  If you ever find yourself in Aleppo don’t miss its magnificent Citadel…which is basically impossible as it is the largest structure in the entire city!