I
The bridge
الجسرA tall bridge on pointed arches climbs over the moat to the great gate block, with openings above the door for defenders to drop things on attackers.
The Citadel of Aleppo
قلعة حلبOne hill above the old city, built on for more than four thousand years. Every empire left a layer. Scroll down and dig through them.
Start digging0.0m below the plateau
About 15 m of buried layers. Depths shown are illustrative.
The way in المدخل
No straight line to the top.
A bridge, then a ramp that keeps turning, so no army could ever charge straight in. Every gate on the way had a guardian.
II
Gate of the Serpents
باب الحيّاتAbove the first gate, two intertwined two-headed dragons are carved into the stone, a guard for anyone walking through.
III
The lions
الأسودOne gate shows a lily between two lions. Further in, a laughing lion faces a weeping one, at a gate inscribed in 1209.
IV
The iron gate
الباب الحديديIts horseshoe-decorated iron doors, inscribed 1211, stood for eight centuries, until a missile destroyed them in August 2012.
The slope المنحدر
A hill dressed in stone.
Around 1200, az-Zahir Ghazi faced the slopes of the mound with stone and deepened the moat. It was built partly against counterweight catapults.
0 mthe reach of a counterweight catapult
The deepest layer أقدم طبقة
The oldest ruins on the hill.
Under the plateau lie the oldest remains on the hill, the ruins of a Bronze Age temple. Archaeologists have dug here since 1996, and the first carved relief came to light in 1997.
- ~2 mbasalt guardians, sphinxes and lions
- 1fish-man, carved in black basalt
- 1997the first relief is found
Move to hold the torch
Look up قاعة العرش
The most beautiful hall in the Islamic world.
That is how medieval writers described the Throne Hall, built above the gate in 1406–07. The painted ceiling you see today was rebuilt in the twentieth century.
The name حلب: من الحَلْب
Halab means to milk.
The old story says the Prophet Ibrahim milked his sheep on this hill and gave the milk to the poor. In Arabic, halab means to milk, and the city kept the name.
A folk story. Scholars trace the name to older roots, but Aleppo has told this one for centuries.Today اليوم
Still standing.
War and an earthquake reached the hill in the last fifteen years. Restorers are still at work, and the gates are open again.
Still standing.
ما زالت شامخة2012
A missile destroys the iron doors of 1211.
2023
The February earthquake causes significant damage, including parts of the Ottoman mill.
2024
After restoration of the entrance tower, visitors return.
2025
A new phase of restoration begins on the entrance.