Our Aleppo Shopping Guide below tells you all about the great shopping to be had in Aleppo, as well as some recommended shopping places. Though Aleppo's shopping is not as geared towards tourists as the souks in Damascus, it still offers some great shopping and some people prefer it for its authenticity. Make sure you take a break from shopping in Aleppo, and relax and enjoy a delicious local meal at one of the great Aleppo restaurants. You should also check out our Syria Shopping Guide for more shopping ideas throughout the country.

Aleppo Shopping Guide

Visit the souks and historic khans of Aleppo to find some great bargains. Most of these are specialised shopping areas. So you're likely to come across shops dedicated to a particular product like carpets, spices, perfumes, gold, scarves, soaps, handicrafts and so on. What's more, entire lanes and streets are flooded with shops dedicated to one particular product. If you know exactly what you want to buy, the souks here offer you any number of choices.

Near the Citadel in the Old City is a large souk that stretches for nearly 12 kilometres. The narrow cobbled lanes with their stone archways house over 6000 shops, making this the longest covered souk of the Middle East.

Those interested in local Aleppo handicrafts should visit the Souk Ash-Shouna. Situated just across the citadel's entrance, it is almost an equivalent of Damascus' handicraft market, the Tekkiye Suleymaniye.

In Al-Jdeida, the Christian Quarter, especially around the Bait Sissi (square), you're bound to find numerous stores dealing in jewellery and antiques.

Most souks are open from 9 am to 6 or 7 pm, Saturday to Thursday. Friday is generally a holiday.