Syria's Ancient Aleppo Souk Poised to Regain Its Bustle

Laborers take part in restoration work at Saqatiya market in the old quarter of Syria's second city of Aleppo | AFP
Laborers take part in restoration work at Saqatiya market in the old quarter of Syria's second city of Aleppo | AFP
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Syria's Ancient Aleppo Souk Poised to Regain Its Bustle

Laborers take part in restoration work at Saqatiya market in the old quarter of Syria's second city of Aleppo | AFP
Laborers take part in restoration work at Saqatiya market in the old quarter of Syria's second city of Aleppo | AFP

On the domed roof of a historical market in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, architect Bassel al-Daher moves between workers painstakingly working to erase the scars of war.

Men wearing vests and helmets repair parts of the roof still bearing visible traces of the four-year-long battle for the former rebel stronghold.

They cover its charred surface with a fresh coat of white paint as part of a wider effort to rehabilitate the Saqatiya market, or souk in Arabic.

Located in the old quarters of Syria's second city, the market dates back to the Ottoman period.

"I feel like I'm redrawing history by restoring this souk," says Daher, 42, one of six architects overseeing its revival as the country's conflict marks its eighth year next week.

"For me, it's the project of a lifetime."

The Saqatiya souk covers an area of more than 1,500 square meters (16,000 square feet) and used to house more than 50 shops before Syria's conflict landed in Aleppo in 2012.

It is located near other landmarks of Aleppo's Old City, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site that served as a frontline during clashes that ended in 2016.

Russia-backed regime forces that year retook control of the eastern side of the city, much of which remains in ruins.

The celebrated citadel, a jewel of medieval architecture whose surrounding wall was damaged by a blast in July 2015, is visible from the market's roof.

The Umayyad mosque, an ancient site that dates back to the 11th century, is within walking distance.

Clashes in April 2013 reduced the mosque's minaret to an unrecognizable pile of blocks.

UNESCO estimates that as much as 60 percent of the Old City was severely damaged.

Saqatiya market fared better than most, with 30 percent battered during the fighting, says Daher.

It shows signs of major damage but no sign of collapse, Syria's antiquities authority said in a report last month.

Restoration works began on November 1 after Syrian authorities signed a partnership agreement with the Aga Khan Foundation in Syria.

Renovations are expected to be completed in July, according to Daher.

Workers are focusing on erasing all "signs of war" from the market and correct old construction violations.

"The broader aim is to bring merchants back to their shops," he says.

Saqatiya market is one of around 37 souks surrounding the Aleppo citadel, the oldest of their kind in the world.

They stretch from the western part of the Old City to the gates of the citadel in the east, covering an area of around 160,000 square meters.

For centuries, they were the commercial heart of the ancient city and served as a key trading hub between the East and the West, says Alaa al-Sayyed, a historian and specialist on the Old City.

The expert, who is also overseeing the restoration, says "they are more than 2,000 years old".

"They are the longest and oldest covered markets in the world," he says.

They consist of dozens of shops, schools, mosques, and bathhouses.

In their long history, this is not the first time the markets have had to be restored.

Over two millennia, they have weathered numerous earthquakes and conquests, but "every time they were rebuilt", he says.

Diyaa al-Issa, 38, wears a white helmet and uniform as he works on renovating a massive gate in the market.

He is one of around 60 men involved in restoration works.

Before the conflict, Issa used to work in renovation and maintenance of the city's ancient heritage.

"Renovations today are nothing like those we used to carry out in the past," he says.

"We used to restore stones affected by moisture, wind and time," he says.

"But today we are treating stones that have been charred and damaged by shrapnel, and we are rebuilding some domes that have been completely destroyed."

Issa hopes the souk can be restored in a way that does not alter its historical character or dispense with too many of the original materials.

His colleague, Mohammed Baqiya, 47, is looking forward to the market coming back to life.

"The stone will be restored," he says.

But "what is most important is the return of shop owners and people who used to bring life to the souk", he says.

"It does not matter how beautiful the souk will be," he says. It will mean nothing "if it is empty of people".



Israeli Attack Exposed Iran's Military 'Vulnerability', Say Analysts

 A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Israeli Attack Exposed Iran's Military 'Vulnerability', Say Analysts

 A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Israel's strikes on archfoe on Iran Friday exposed severe weaknesses for Tehran that have hampered its ability to respond militarily, analysts said.

Israel said it hit 100 targets including Iranian nuclear and military sites in the attacks, killing senior figures, among them the armed forces' chief and top nuclear scientists.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei warned Israel it faces a "bitter and painful" fate over the attacks, but analysts say the country's options are limited.

"This is an intelligence defeat of existential proportions for Iran," said Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Berlin-based Center for Middle East and Global Order (CMEG) think tank.

"It exposes the vital vulnerability of the regime's military and security apparatus and its key infrastructures, including nuclear, as well as its top political and military leadership," he told AFP.

"All this is meant, inter alia, to cripple Tehran's command and counter-strike capacities."

The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon.

Tehran denies that, but has gradually broken away from its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers, after the United States pulled out of it.

The landmark accord provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic program, but it fell apart after President Donald Trump halted US participation in 2018, during his first term.

Western nations in recent days accused Tehran of deliberately escalating its nuclear program, despite several rounds of US-Iran talks for a new accord.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Thursday it would "significantly" increase production of enriched uranium, after the UN's nuclear watchdog found Tehran in breach of its obligations.

Israel has previously carried out attacks in Iran, including against military targets in October last year.

But Friday's attacks were unprecedented.

"The Israel campaign is sweeping in scope and sophistication," said Ali Vaez, of the International Crisis Group.

"We may still only be in the early stages of a prolonged operation that continues to expand, disrupting Iran's ability to either formulate or execute a response."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his country's military operation would "continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat".

Friday's strikes killed Iran's highest-ranking military officer, armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, Iranian media reported.

A senior advisor to Khamenei was also wounded, state television said.

Clement Therme, of the Sorbonne University, said that "to retaliate, the regime seems to be in a bind".

"Either it targets US bases in the region and jeopardizes its future, or it targets Israel, but we see that its military capabilities are limited," he said.

The Israeli military said Iran launched around 100 drones against it, but its air defenses intercepted "most" of them outside Israeli territory.

Israel, which relies on US diplomatic and military support, carried out the attack despite Trump's public urging for it to give time for diplomacy.

Trump's Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff had been set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman.

A Western diplomat earlier this year described Iran's economy as "cataclysmic", saying the country had "a gigantic need for the lifting of sanctions, reforms, a cleanup of the banking system, foreign investments".

Ellie Geranmayeh, an Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the strikes were "designed to kill President Trump's chances of striking a deal to contain the Iranian nuclear program".

"It is highly unlikely that in these conditions, Iran will proceed with the Omani-mediated talks scheduled for Sunday," she added.

But, after the strikes, a US official said Washington still hoped the Sunday talks would go ahead.

Trump urged Iran to "make a deal, before there is nothing left", warning that otherwise there will be more "death and destruction".

Vaez warned the strategy may not work.

"Rather than prompt Iranian concessions it could also lead to a doubling down by Tehran," he said.

"Setbacks could lead Iran to reconstitute their operations with a more determined effort to obtain a nuclear deterrent."