Aleppo Full Day

The Aleppo Citadel

50m above the city, a ring of crenellated walls and towers rises from a steep glacis, encircling a mass of ruins from every period. It has always been extremely important, both strategically and militarily. It was built in the days of Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamadani, on the remains of earlier civilizations.

The citadel's fortified entrance is a marvellous example of Arab military architecture. On the north and south sides, great towers rise above the moat. This moat, 20 m deep and 30 m wide, emphasises the fortress's proud isolation.

The main parts of the citadel are the throne room, the bathroom, the small mosque (Ibrahim's mosque), and the great mosque built in 1213, whose square minaret is 21 m high and from which a splendid view can be seen. Inside the citadel there is a small museum that contains relics uncovered during restoration and reconstruction.

Saint Simon

This citadel is 60 km north-west of Aleppo. It was named after the hermit Saint Simon (Sam'an), a shepherd from northern Syria, who became a monk after a revelation in a dream. Following Saint Simon's death in 459, the Emperor Zenon ordered that a cathedral be built where the saint used to pray.

The layout was original, centring on the famous column from which Saint Simon used to preach. Four basilicas, arranged in the shape of a cross, opened into an octagon covered by a dome, in the centre of which stood the holy column. It is a beautiful church built on the ridge of the hill where Saint Simon had taken up "residence". Simplicity and harmony combine to make the ruins of the Basilica of St. Simon (an earthquake destroyed parts of the church less than half a century after it had been built) a masterpiece of pre-Islamic art in Syria.

In the tenth century, some towers and walls were erected. It was then called "Qal'at Sam'an" (Simon's Citadel). It became the centre of conflict between Byzantium and the Hamadani kingdom; in 986, the son of Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamadani finally captured it.

Visit to the Umayyad Mosque, the National Museum, Khan Al Wazir, the Church of the 40 Armenian Martyrs, and the famous Citadel of Aleppo and Saint Simon.