Aleppo has a claim to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and for most of its history it was a great trading city at the western end of the Silk Road. Its old town, listed by UNESCO in 1986, grew around a massive citadel on a mound in the centre, ringed by a moat and entered through a fortified gateway and bridge, mostly the work of the Ayyubid rulers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Around it lay the souqs, kilometres of covered markets, among the largest in the Middle East, and caravanserais, mosques, madrasas and fine courtyard houses.
The city suffered terribly during the war that began in 2011. Between 2012 and 2016, the old city was a front line, and much of it was badly damaged or destroyed, including large parts of the souqs and the eleventh-century minaret of the Umayyad Mosque, which collapsed in 2013. The earthquake of February 2023 caused further damage. Restoration work has since been under way on several monuments and parts of the souqs, but the scars are still evident everywhere.
Since the political changes of late 2024, the situation in Syria has been evolving. Security risks remain, and anyone considering travelling to Aleppo, let alone riding a motorcycle there, must check current official travel advice, travel with reliable local contacts and be prepared for unpredictable conditions. Infrastructure, including fuel supply and electricity, can be unreliable.
Aleppo is a big city, and riding in it is chaotic, with heavy traffic and damaged roads in places. The surrounding countryside is mostly flat, with farmland, olive groves and limestone hills to the west, where the Dead Cities lie, and the roads between them are narrow and sometimes in poor condition.
Aleppo is famous across the Arab world for its food. The city is known for its kebabs, especially kebab karaz, made with sour cherries, and for its muhammara, its pistachios and its sweets, and the Aleppo pepper, a mild, fruity chilli, is used in kitchens around the world. Aleppo soap, made from olive and laurel oils, is another famous product. When the time comes that the city is safe to visit again, sitting in a restored courtyard with a glass of tea and a plate of sweets will be one of the great pleasures of travel in the Middle East.