Aleppo, Syria - Ascent to the Citadel - German postcard c.1910s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Aleppo [Syria] - Aufgang zur Citadelle / Ascent to the Citadel
• Publisher: Meisenbach Riffarth & Co., Leipzig
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Aleppo (/əˈlɛpoʊ/; Arabic: ﺣَﻠَﺐ‎ / ALA-LC: Ḥalab, IPA: [ˈħalab]) is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate.^[7] With an official population of 4.6 million in 2010,^[8] Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War; however, now Aleppo is probably the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus.

Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it may have been inhabited since the 6th millennium BC.^[9] Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied by Amorites since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC.^[10] This is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is a part of the Amorite state of Yamhad, and is noted for its commercial and military proficiency.^[11] Such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia (i.e. modern Iraq).

For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the Syrian region, and the Ottoman Empire's third-largest after Constantinople and Cairo.^[12][13][14] The city's significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, which passed through central Asia and Mesopotamia. When the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, as well as the important railway connecting it to Mosul. In the 1940s, it lost its main access to the sea, Antakya and İskenderun, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation. This decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the "Islamic Capital of Culture 2006", and has had a wave of successful restorations of its historic landmarks. The Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) occurred in the city during the Syrian Civil War, and many parts of the city suffered massive destruction.^[15] Affected parts of the city are currently undergoing reconstruction.^[16][17]

Aleppo lies about 120 km (75 mi) inland from the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau 380 m (1,250 ft) above sea level, 45 km (28 mi) east of the Syrian-Turkish border checkpoint of Bab al-Hawa. The city is surrounded by farmlands from the north and the west, widely cultivated with olive and pistachio trees. To the east, Aleppo approaches the dry areas of the Syrian Desert.

The Citadel of Aleppo (Arabic: قلعة حلب‎) is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently, occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamluks, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period. An extensive conservation work took place in the 2000s by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in collaboration with Aleppo Archeological Society. Dominating the city, the Citadel is part of the Ancient City of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.^[1] The Citadel received significant damage during the Battle of Aleppo.^[2][3] It was reopened to the public in early 2017 with repairs to damaged parts underway.^[4]

The recently discovered temple of the ancient storm-god Hadad dates use of the hill to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, as referenced in cuneiform texts from Ebla and Mari.^[5] The city became the capital of Yamhad and was known as the "City of Hadad".^[6] The temple remained in use from the 24th century BC^[7] to at least the 9th century BC,^[8] as evidenced by reliefs discovered at it during excavations by German archaeologist Kay Kohlmeyer.

The prophet Abraham is said to have milked his sheep on the citadel hill.^[9] After the decline of the Neo-Hittite state centred in Aleppo, the Assyrians dominated the area (8th–4th century BC), followed by the Neo-Babylonians and the Persians (539–333).^[10]