Preserving Our Cultural and Natural Heritage

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Preserving Our Cultural and Natural Heritage Developing a Research Community and Capacity for the Study of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Eric Ashcroft Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program American Association for the Advancement of Science www.aaas.org/geotech @aaas_gthr World’s largest multidisciplinary scientific membership organization Mission: Advance Science, Serve Society 120,000 individual members 262 affiliated organizations Publisher of the Science family of journals American Association for the Advancement of Science Washington, DC The Program is committed to: • promoting high standards for the practice of science; • advancing the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress; • engaging scientists in human rights; • enhancing assessment of ethical, legal, and human rights issues related to science and technology; and • furthering the use of science and technology in support of human rights. Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project • Identify human rights applications of high- and low-resolution satellite image analysis • Increase understanding among human rights courts, commissions, and other organizations regarding applications of geospatial technologies • Utilize high-resolution satellite imagery to study border conflicts, in order to identify warning signs that can help predict future hostilities • Assess the status of cultural heritage sites in Syria and Iraq to build knowledge regarding the reasons why heritage is targeted during conflict Example: Syria Medical Facility Attacks Partner: Physicians for Human Rights 5 Research Developing a Research Community and Capacity for the Study of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Questions: • Why is cultural heritage targeted in conflict? • Under what circumstances? By whom? • What research community is needed to answer these questions? • What research methods and datasets are required to answer these questions? University of Pennsylvania Museum Smithsonian Institution American Association for the Advancement of Science National Science Foundation Award #1439549 Research • Social and political factors contributing to the destruction of cultural heritage sites during conflict are poorly understood due to the absence of an interdisciplinary research network and shared datasets for developing and testing theoretical frameworks. • Large scale, systematically collected datasets have demonstrated utility in studies about the accelerators and social dynamics of conflict. • The study of cultural heritage in conflict situations would benefit from an intensive planning period in order to organize a research community that can effectively utilize and develop large-scale data resources. The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project (SHOSI) Institutional Partners: • Penn Cultural Heritage Center University of Pennsylvania Museum • Office of the Under Secretary for Art and Culture Smithsonian Institution • Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights Project American Association for the Advancement of Science • Middle Eastern Studies Center Shawnee State University • U.S. Institute of Peace • The Day After Association Ancient City of Aleppo Khusriwiye Mosque, Grand Serail, Hammam Yalbougha an-Nasry dome Khusriwiye Mosque, Grand Serail, Hammam Yalbougha an-Nasry dome Grand Serail Dura-Europos Dura-Europos Dura-Europos Ancient Site of Palmyra: Fakhr-al-Din al-Ma'ani Castle Ancient Site of Palmyra: Fakhr-al-Din al-Ma'ani Castle Ebla Ebla Ebla Ebla Dead Cities: Jebel Barisha Dead Cities: Jebel Barisha Dead Cities: Jebel Barisha Raqqa: Tombs of Uwais al- Qarani, Obay ibn Qays, and Ammar ibn Yasir Raqqa: Tombs of Uwais al- Qarani, Obay ibn Qays, and Ammar ibn Yasir Raqqa: Tombs of Uwais al- Qarani, Obay ibn Qays, and Ammar ibn Yasir The SHOSI Project: Support for the Syrian Heritage Task Force • Established in June 2014 by the Syrian Interim Government. • A freestanding, non- governmental entity. • Led by Syrian technical experts. • Interface with UNESCO, ICCROM, ICOMOS, ICOM, and ICBS. • Able to implement training activities and workshops. The SHOSI Project : Workshops Emergency Care for Syrian Museum Collections 23-25 June 2014 1. To offer information on how to secure museum collections safely during emergencies. 2. To provide participants with basic supplies for packing and securing museum collections. 3. To create a dialogue between Syrian participants about emergency responses. Photo Credit: Syrian Heritage Task Force The SHOSI Project: Reducing Looting Photo Credit: Syrian Heritage Task Force The SHOSI Project: Ma’arra Mosaic Museum Photo Credit: Syrian Heritage Task Force The SHOSI Project: Ma’arra Mosaic Museum Photo Credit: Syrian Heritage Task Force The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project (SHOSI) Future Activities: • Hold at least three training workshops for Syrian and Iraqi heritage professionals. • Conduct baseline documentation of sites at great risk of destruction by ISIL in Syria and Iraq. • Support emergency heritage protection projects inside Syria as needed and possible. • Release a series of reports using scientific methodologies focused on damage to Syrian and Iraqi cultural sites using a combination of satellite imagery and on-the-ground documentation. The Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project (SHOSI) Project Financial Support: • J. M. Kaplan Fund • National Science Foundation • Anonymous Private Donors.
Recommended publications
  • State Party Report
    Ministry of Culture Directorate General of Antiquities & Museums STATE PARTY REPORT On The State of Conservation of The Syrian Cultural Heritage Sites (Syrian Arab Republic) For Submission By 1 February 2018 1 CONTENTS Introduction 4 1. Damascus old city 5 Statement of Significant 5 Threats 6 Measures Taken 8 2. Bosra old city 12 Statement of Significant 12 Threats 12 3. Palmyra 13 Statement of Significant 13 Threats 13 Measures Taken 13 4. Aleppo old city 15 Statement of Significant 15 Threats 15 Measures Taken 15 5. Crac des Cchevaliers & Qal’at Salah 19 el-din Statement of Significant 19 Measure Taken 19 6. Ancient Villages in North of Syria 22 Statement of Significant 22 Threats 22 Measure Taken 22 4 INTRODUCTION This Progress Report on the State of Conservation of the Syrian World Heritage properties is: Responds to the World Heritage on the 41 Session of the UNESCO Committee organized in Krakow, Poland from 2 to 12 July 2017. Provides update to the December 2017 State of Conservation report. Prepared in to be present on the previous World Heritage Committee meeting 42e session 2018. Information Sources This report represents a collation of available information as of 31 December 2017, and is based on available information from the DGAM braches around Syria, taking inconsideration that with ground access in some cities in Syria extremely limited for antiquities experts, extent of the damage cannot be assessment right now such as (Ancient Villages in North of Syria and Bosra). 5 Name of World Heritage property: ANCIENT CITY OF DAMASCUS Date of inscription on World Heritage List: 26/10/1979 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANTS Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus was an important cultural and commercial center, by virtue of its geographical position at the crossroads of the orient and the occident, between Africa and Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • National Museum of Aleppo As a Model)
    Strategies for reconstructing and restructuring of museums in post-war places (National Museum of Aleppo as a Model) A dissertation submitted at the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the University of Bern for the doctoral degree by: Mohamad Fakhro (Idlib – Syria) 20/02/2020 Prof. Dr. Mirko Novák, Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften der Universität Bern and Dr. Lutz Martin, Stellvertretender Direktor, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Fakhro. Mohamad Hutmatten Str.12 D-79639 Grenzach-Wyhlen Bern, 25.11.2019 Original document saved on the web server of the University Library of Bern This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No derivative works 2.5 Switzerland licence. To see the licence go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ch/ or write to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105, USA Copyright Notice This document is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No derivative works 2.5 Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ch/ You are free: to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work Under the following conditions: Attribution. You must give the original author credit. Non-Commercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No derivative works. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.. For any reuse or distribution, you must take clear to others the license terms of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder. Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author’s moral rights according to Swiss law.
    [Show full text]
  • Syrian Arab Republic
    UNESCO Activities supported by the Heritage Emergency Fund in the SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Cover of the publication © UNESCO/UNITAR Coordination of expert network to support the documentation and mapping of Syrian cultural resources at risk in Northern Lebanon (2019) The documentation and mapping of Syrian cultural resources at risk was a component of the EU–UNESCO project ‘Protecting Cultural Heritage and Diversity in Complex Emergencies for Stability and Peace.’ The implementation period of this project ended on 30 September 2019. The component of the project concerning Syria, aimed to support the realization of cultural rights and to foster social cohesion and stability among communities affected by the Syrian armed conflict. A notable aspect of this project came through the development of a methodology and a training to collect and map the cultural resources of displaced Syrian communities in Northern Lebanon. In this context and with the aim of building on the project’s momentum and results, the HEF supported the establishment of a network of individual experts and representatives of development and humanitarian organizations. This was done in order to continue supporting the project’s overarching aims and to lead, in a coordinated manner, future actions relating to the safeguarding of Syrian cultural resources. UNESCO subsequently organized a number of meetings with the expert network in order to discuss the scope of possible future actions aimed at enhancing the preparedness of displaced Syrian communities and the safeguarding of their cultural resources. As a result of the meetings, a project proposal titled ‘Supporting Cultural Resources among Forcibly Displaced Syrians in Lebanon’ was developed.
    [Show full text]
  • Reinventing Cities
    THE UNESCO CourierApril-June 2019 Reinventing Cities Alain Mabanckou Jorge Majfud Thomas B. Reverdy Read the Subscribe to UNESCO the digital version Courier It’s 100% and spread FREE! the word! https://en.unesco.org/courier/subscribe Published in Read and 10 languages share Arabic, Chinese, English, Share the Esperanto, French, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Sicilian UNESCO Courier and Spanish. with your network by Become an active publishing partner promoting it, in line by proposing new language editions of with the Organization’s the UNESCO Courier. Open Access publishing policy. Subscribe to the print version • 1 year (4 issues): €27 • 2 years (8 issues): €54 For more details, contact Subscription fees cover printing and distribution costs. There is no profit motive. DL Services, C/O Michot Warehouses, Chaussée de Mons 77, Discounted rates for group subscriptions: B 1600 Sint Pieters Leeuw, Belgium 10% discount for five or more subscriptions. Tel: (+ 32) 477 455 329 E-mail: [email protected] 2019 • n° 2 • Published since 1948 Production and promotion: Information and reproduction rights: Ian Denison, Chief, UNESCO Publishing [email protected] The UNESCO Courier is published quarterly by the United 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. and Branding It promotes the ideals of UNESCO by sharing ideas on Eric Frogé, Senior Production Assistant © UNESCO 2019 issues of international concern relevant to its mandate. Digital Production: ISSN 2220-2285 • e-ISSN 2220-2293 The UNESCO Courier is published thanks to the generous Denis Pitzalis, Web Architect/Developer support of the People’s Republic of China.
    [Show full text]
  • ASOR Syrian Heritage Initiative (SHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria1 NEA-PSHSS-14-001
    ASOR Syrian Heritage Initiative (SHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria1 NEA-PSHSS-14-001 Weekly Report 9 – October 6, 2014 MiChael D. Danti, Cheikhmous Ali, Jesse Casana, and Kurt W. PresCott Heritage Timeline October 5, 2014 APSA posted Syria’s Cultural Heritage: APSA-report-01 September 2014. This report includes the individual APSA reports detailed in SHI Weekly Reports 3–9. http://www.apsa2011.Com/index.php/en/apsa- rapports/987-apsa-report-september-2014.html October 3, 2014 APSA posted photos from journalist Shady Hulwe showing the total destruCtion of the Khusruwiye Madrasa and Mosque and the damage to the Khan al-Shouna in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, AnCient City of Aleppo. SHI InCident Report SHI14-054. • The New York Times published “Antiquities Lost, Casualties of War. In Syria and Iraq, Trying to ProteCt a Heritage at Risk,” by Graham Bowley. http://www.nytimes.Com/2014/10/05/arts/design/in-syria- and-iraq-trying-to-proteCt-a-heritage-at-risk.html?_r=0 October 2, 2014 APSA posted several photographs taken by Syrian journalist Shady Hulwe showing damage to the Hittite temple of the weather-god on the Aleppo Citadel in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, AnCient City of Aleppo. SHI InCident Report SHI14-039. October 1, 2014 APSA posted a video to their website showing a fire at the Great Umayyad Mosque in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, AnCient City of Aleppo. SHI InCident Report SHI14-040. http://www.apsa2011.Com/index.php/en/provinces/aleppo/great- umayyad-mosque/975-alep-omeyyades-2.html September 30, 2014 DGAM released Initial Damages Assessment for Syrian Cultural Heritage During the Crises covering the period July 7, 2014 to September 30, 2014.
    [Show full text]
  • Academic Publications: Aleppo
    Academic Publications: Aleppo Abu Shāla, Abd al-Majīd. 1967. “Al-Sinā’āt Al-Taqlīdiyya Fī Halab [Traditional Crafts of Aleppo].” Majallat Al-Imaran 20: 62–78. Al-Amilī, Husayn Mallī. 1968. Ta’rīkh Mashhad Al-Imām Al-Husayn Fī Halab [The History of the Tomb of Al-Imam Al-Husain in Aleppo]. Beirut: Matba’at al-Misri. Al-Bahnasi, Afif. 1980. “Aleppo.” In The Islamic City, edited by Robert Bertram Serjeant, 177– 82. Paris: UNESCO. ———. 1984. “Visite Archeologique de La Vieille Cite d’Alep.” Bulletin D’études Orientales 36: 203–11. Al-Hashimi, Muhammad Yahys. 1967. “Qal’at Halab Al-Atharyiyya [The Ancient Citadel of Aleppo].” Majallat Al-Imaran 20: 217–25. Al-Kawakibi, Sa’d Zaghlul. 1978. “Minbar Al-Masjid Al-Aqsā [The Minbar of the Aqsa Mosque].” Majallat ’Adiyat Halab 4: 31–67. Al-Mibrad, Yūsuf b. Ḥasan Ibn. 1943. Timār Al-Maqāṣid Fī Dikr Al-Masāǧid: Taḥqīq: Muḥammad As’ Ad Ṭalas [The Results of Intentions in the Accounts of Mosques]. Damascus: al- Ma’had al-faransī. Al-Tabbakh, Muhammad Raghib. 1932. “Minbar Al-Masjid Al-Aqsā [The Minbar of the Aqsa Mosque].” Majallat Al-’Adiyat al'Suriyya 2: 43–49. Aleppo Museum. 1969. Matḥaf Ḥalab [The Museum of Aleppo]. Aleppo: al-Mudīrīyah al- ʻĀmmah lil-Āthār wa-al-Matāḥif. Allen, Terry. 1983. “Some Pre-Mamluk Portions of the Courtyard Facades of the Great Mosque of Aleppo.” Bulletin D’études Orientales 35: 7–12. Amer, N. 1993. “Il Problema Della Modernizzazione Di Una Citta Di Grandi Tradizioni: Piani E Progetti per Aleppo Dagli Anni Della Dipendenza a Quelli Della Crescita Metropolitana”.
    [Show full text]
  • Breaking Aleppo Report
    © 2017 The Atlantic Council of the United States. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Atlantic Council, except in the case of brief quotations in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. Please direct inquiries to: Atlantic Council 1030 15th Street, NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20005 ISBN: 978-1-61977-449-0 This report is written and published in accordance with the Atlantic Council Policy on Intellectual Independence. The authors are solely responsible for its analysis and recommendations. The Atlantic Council and its donors do not determine, nor do they necessarily endorse or advocate for, any of this report’s conclusions. February 2017 Maksymilian Czuperski Director Digital Forensic Research Lab & Special Advisor to the President, Atlantic Council Faysal Itani Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center on the MIddle East, Atlantic Council Ben Nimmo Senior Fellow, Information Defense, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Atlantic Council Eliot Higgins Senior Fellow, Digital Forensic Research Lab & Founder, Bellingcat Emma Beals Investigative Journalist WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO Aleppo Media Center Bellingcat Forensic Architecture Syrian American Medical Society The White Helmets The Syria Campaign The Syria Institute Agenda Global Rafik Hariri Center on the Middle East at the Atlantic Council Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations Mayday Rescue TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD .........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • State Party Report
    Ministry of Culture Directorate General of Antiquities & Museums STATE PARTY REPORT On The State of Conservation of The Syrian Cultural Heritage Sites (Syrian Arab Republic) For Submission By 1 February 2019 1 INTRODUCTION This Progress Report on the State of Conservation of the Syrian World Heritage properties is: Responds to the World Heritage on the 42 Session of the UNESCO Committee organized in Manama, Bahrain from 24 June to 4 July 2018. Provides update to the December 2018 State of Conservation report. Prepared in to be present on the previous World Heritage Committee meeting 43e session 2019. Information Sources This report represents a collation of available information as of 31 December 2018, and is based on available information from the DGAM braches around Syria, taking inconsideration that with ground access in some cities in Syria extremely limited for antiquities experts, extent of the damage cannot be assessment right now such as (Ancient Villages in North of Syria). 3 1. WORLD HERITAGE SITES Name of World Heritage property:: ANCIENT CITY OF ALEPPO Date of inscription on World Heritage List: 1986 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANTS Located at the crossroads of several trade routes since the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyubids, Mameluks and Ottomans who left their stamp on the city. The Citadel, the 12th-century Great Mosque and various 16th and 17th-centuries madrasas, residences, khans and public baths, all form part of the city's cohesive, unique urban fabric. The monumental Citadel of Aleppo, rising above the suqs, mosques and madrasas of the old walled city, is testament to Arab military might from the 12th to the 14th centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • Aleppo - Before and After
    The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-2/W9, 2019 8th Intl. Workshop 3D-ARCH “3D Virtual Reconstruction and Visualization of Complex Architectures”, 6–8 February 2019, Bergamo, Italy ALEPPO - BEFORE AND AFTER G. Fangi Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy – Email: [email protected] Commission II KEY WORDS: Syrian Threatened Cultural Heritage, Spherical Photogrammetry ABSTRACT: In October 2018 I was in Aleppo, Syria, for my second time after the visit in 2010 before the war. It was an unique opportunity to perform 3D surveys of some noticeable buildings and monuments affected by the war. The paper shows some 3D results and comparisons for same monuments. The objects of the survey are some parts of the Citadel walls, the entrance tower of the Citadel, the southern tower, one mosque, the minaret of the Citadel mosque. These results prove undoubtedly that photogrammetry is an essential instrument for the 3D documentation and digital preservation of cultural heritage. The used technique is spherical photogrammetry, based on panoramic images and ad-hoc processing processes. The technique is very much suitable for heritage documentation and if will be transferred to the students of the local faculty of architecture. 1. THE STORY OF MY SYRIAN SURVEYS A) Monument where the comparison between “before” and “after”, feasible as surveys of both periods are available: 1.1 Introduction - Minaret - Medrasa AlHaways (interior and court) It happened to me to be in Aleppo, Syria, before the war in 2010 - Southern Tower and in general the walls of the citadel and once again in October 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • Reinventing Cities
    THE UNESCO CourierApril-June 2019 Reinventing Cities Alain Mabanckou Jorge Majfud Thomas B. Reverdy Read the Subscribe to UNESCO the digital version Courier It’s 100% and spread FREE! the word! https://en.unesco.org/courier/subscribe Published in Read and 10 languages share Arabic, Chinese, English, Share the Esperanto, French, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Sicilian UNESCO Courier and Spanish. with your network by Become an active publishing partner promoting it, in line by proposing new language editions of with the Organization’s the UNESCO Courier. Open Access publishing policy. Subscribe to the print version • 1 year (4 issues): €27 • 2 years (8 issues): €54 For more details, contact Subscription fees cover printing and distribution costs. There is no profit motive. DL Services, C/O Michot Warehouses, Chaussée de Mons 77, Discounted rates for group subscriptions: B 1600 Sint Pieters Leeuw, Belgium 10% discount for five or more subscriptions. Tel: (+ 32) 477 455 329 E-mail: [email protected] 2019 • n° 2 • Published since 1948 Production and promotion: Information and reproduction rights: Ian Denison, Chief, UNESCO Publishing [email protected] The UNESCO Courier is published quarterly by the United 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. and Branding It promotes the ideals of UNESCO by sharing ideas on Eric Frogé, Senior Production Assistant © UNESCO 2019 issues of international concern relevant to its mandate. Digital Production: ISSN 2220-2285 • e-ISSN 2220-2293 The UNESCO Courier is published thanks to the generous Denis Pitzalis, Web Architect/Developer support of the People’s Republic of China.
    [Show full text]
  • (CHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria and Iraq1
    ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives (CHI): Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria and Iraq1 NEA-PSHSS-14-001 Weekly Report 38 — April 27, 2015 Michael D. Danti, Cheikhmous Ali, Tate Paulette, Kathryn Franklin, Allison Cuneo, LeeAnn Barnes Gordon, and David Elitzer Executive Summary During the reporting period, reported heritage daMage in the south of Syria reMained elevated and correlates With increased Military activity. Sites in the region of Daraa and Bosra are at high risk of daMage and destruction. In the north of Syria, various sources reported the detonation of Multiple tunnel boMbs and barrel boMbs in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient City of Aleppo causing widespread destruction. Few details on these events are available at the tiMe of this report. The use of tunnel bombs and barrel bombs Within Aleppo’s Old City is Well docuMented, and UN Security Council Resolution 2139 (2014) specifically calls for the end of indiscriMinate attacks on civilian populations, specifically singling out the horrific iMpacts of barrel boMbs. Tunnel boMbs represent a deliberate — and When filMed and used for propagandistic purposes, frequently perforMative — destruction of heritage places of questionable Military expedience. The use of tunnel boMbs by opposition forces in Aleppo, priMarily Salafi-Jihadi factions, represents a probable reprisal against regiMe airstrikes (esp. barrel bombs) in residential areas. NeW inforMation Was posted online that highlights another source of heritage daMage in Syria that has received relatively little attention: the looting of excavation storehouses. The storage facilities of the famous Tell Sabi Abyad expedition Were looted and vandalized in Raqqa Governorate. The excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have played a crucial role in our understanding of early village life in the ancient Near East during the late Neolithic and Halaf periods — an important developMental period in the eMergence of societal coMplexity leading to the World’s earliest civilizations.
    [Show full text]
  • Aleppo (Syria)
    Old City of Aleppo, A recovery of a World Heritage Site, a recovery of a community “Syrians 'soul is back” PhD. arch. Hala ASSLAN In Syria, The Old City of Aleppo was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986. During the conflict the Ancient city of Aleppo has suffered a severe damage and destruction, which was the motivation of UNESCO, in 2013, to classify the city as ʺendangered siteʺ on the List of World Heritage in Danger, in accordance (article 11, paragraph 4) with the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted by the General Conference at its 17 session in Paris, 16 November 1972. The Old City of Aleppo – composed of the Citadel, the Great Mosque of Aleppo, the ancient city within the walls and the old cell-like quarters outside the walls – has an approximate area of 350 hectares (860 acres; 3.5 km2), housing more than 120,000 residents. It won the title of the "Islamic Capital of Culture 2006", and has had a wave of successful restorations of its historic landmarks a part of the Old City of Aleppo, is located in the center of it. with ,"سوق السقط ّية .Souk al-Saqatiyya, arabic" its architectural formation it is considered the most admirable Souk as an evidence of eternity and permanence of the city. As well as, it is considered a model of the Souks during the Ottoman period in Aleppo. Its arches are following one another in succession of a shadow and light play, as one of its most Islamic architecture characteristics.
    [Show full text]