Shadow of Syria’s Exiled Hangs Over Revived Aleppo Souk

People walk through the reopened Khan al-Harir souk in Syria's northern city of Aleppo - AFP
People walk through the reopened Khan al-Harir souk in Syria's northern city of Aleppo - AFP
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Shadow of Syria’s Exiled Hangs Over Revived Aleppo Souk

People walk through the reopened Khan al-Harir souk in Syria's northern city of Aleppo - AFP
People walk through the reopened Khan al-Harir souk in Syria's northern city of Aleppo - AFP

The historic Khan al-Harir souk in war-torn Syria's erstwhile economic capital of Aleppo has reopened following restoration work, but much of the former workforce that energized it remains exiled.

"Reconstruction works are done and this is great, but it's not enough," said Ahmed al-Shib, a 55-year-old textile merchant who had hoped to pass his business onto his sons.

"What we want is for our sons to return to these stores," he told AFP during the reopening of the covered market this week, showing pictures he had sent to his eldest who moved to Algeria three years ago to join his brother.

Khan al-Harir (silk souk) -- one of 37 markets surrounding Aleppo's famed citadel -- attracted thousands of tourists and merchants before the onset of Syria's conflict in 2011.

It was hit hard during he way which damaged as much as 60 percent of Aleppo's Old City, according to estimates by the UN's cultural agency, UNESCO.

The market officially reopened on Sunday -- five years after the Syrian government regained control of Aleppo, AFP reported.

Restoration works erased traces of some of the conflict's most brutal battles but it did little to console traders who have lost much more than just their stores.

In Ahmed's fabric shop, a portrait of his father -- the founder of the family business -- adorns a freshly painted wall.

Like many others in Khan al-Harir, Ahmed fears the family's store may die with him.

"My children live in Algeria, and the children of other traders are scattered between Egypt, Erbil" in northern Iraq and elsewhere, he said.

"There are a lot of trades that will be threatened if our sons continue to emigrate."

Syria's conflict has killed nearly half a million people, forced half of the pre-war population from their homes, and decimated the economy and infrastructure, with more than 80 percent of its residents now living below the poverty line.

As a result, Aleppo, long considered one of Syria's main commercial hubs, has lost many of the merchants and businessmen who once gave the city its economic edge.

Many have sought business opportunities elsewhere, with neighboring Iraq and Turkey popular destinations.

Ahmed al-Damlakhi took over a fabric shop in Khan al-Harir from his brother who emigrated to Turkey with his children several years ago.

Under a freshly renovated arch dotted with white and black stones, the 65-year-old greeted neighbors he hadn't seen in years.

He started a video call with his brother in Turkey to show the scene in the market, where traders had gathered outside their shops amid a trickle of customers.

"I am optimistic about the reopening of the market ... but we are missing merchants and investors who are now scattered across the Arab world and have established businesses there," he said.

Although he wished his brother was with him to celebrate the reopening, Damlakhi said the reasons that initially pushed him out had not changed.

"We used to depend on tourists and visitors coming from the countryside and other provinces... but the economic situation is now very difficult," he said.

"Western sanctions, meanwhile, create obstacles in relation to imports, exports and overall trade," Damlakhi added.

"So long as the situation doesn't change, it will be hard for my brother and his sons to return."

The renovation of Khan al-Harir -- home to some 60 stores -- took around a year to complete, and preparations are underway for two other markets to also be restored.

"The area was a pile of destruction, and today we can say that the market's infrastructure has been completely rehabilitated," said Jean Moughamez of the Syria Trust for Development, a government-linked agency overseeing restoration works.

But the exodus of traders poses a challenge, he admitted.

"We've had difficulty communicating with shop owners who are outside Syria, especially those who do not have an agent taking care of their shop affairs," Moughamez said.

"We cannot work alone, and we need everyone's cooperation," he said.



Humanoid Robots Stride into the Future with World's First Half-marathon

A robot takes part in the humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
A robot takes part in the humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Humanoid Robots Stride into the Future with World's First Half-marathon

A robot takes part in the humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
A robot takes part in the humanoid robot half marathon in Beijing on April 19, 2025. (AFP)

Step by mechanical step, dozens of humanoid robots took to the streets of Beijing early Saturday, joining thousands of their flesh-and-blood counterparts in a world-first half marathon showcasing China's drive to lead the global race in cutting-edge technology.

The 21-kilometer (13-mile) event held in the Chinese capital's E-Town -- a state-backed hub for high-tech manufacturing -- is billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions, AFP said.

At the crack of the starter's gun, and as a Chinese pop song "I Believe" blared out from loudspeakers on repeat, the robots queued up one by one and took their first tentative steps.
Curious human runners lined up on their side of the road and waited patiently with mobile phones at the ready to shoot each machine as they prepared to depart.

One smaller-sized android, which fell over and lay on the ground for several minutes, got up by itself to loud cheers.

Another, powered by propellers and designed to look like a Transformer, veered across the starting line before crashing into a barrier and knocking over an engineer.

"Getting onto the race track might seem like a small step for humans, but it's a giant leap for humanoid robots," Liang Liang, Beijing E-Town's management committee deputy director, told AFP before the event. Nearby, engineers jogged alongside their machines.

"The marathon helps push humanoid robots one step closer toward industrialization."

- Tech race -

Around 20 teams from across China are taking part in the competition -- with robots ranging from 75 to 180 centimeters (2.46 to 5.9 feet) tall and weighing up to 88 kilograms (194 pounds).

Some are running autonomously, while others are guided remotely by engineers, with machines and humans running on separate tracks.

Engineers told AFP the goal was to test the performance and reliability of the androids -- emphasizing that finishing the race, not winning it, was the main objective.
"I think it's a big boost for the entire robotics industry," Cui Wenhao, a 28-year-old engineer at Noetix Robotics, said of the half-marathon.

"Honestly, there are very few opportunities for the whole industry to run at full speed over such a long distance or duration. It's a serious test for the battery, the motors, the structure -- even the algorithms."

Cui said as part of its training, a humanoid robot had been running a half-marathon every day, at a pace of about seven-minutes per kilometer, and he expected it to complete the race with no issues.

"But just in case, we've also prepared a backup robot," he added.

Another young engineer, 25-year-old Kong Yichang from DroidUp, said the race would help to "lay a foundation for a whole series of future activities involving humanoid robots".
"The significance (of the race) lies in the fact that humanoid robots can truly integrate into human society and begin doing things that humans do."

China, the world's second-largest economy, has sought to assert its dominance in the fields of AI and robotics, positioning itself as a direct challenger to the United States.

In January, Chinese start-up DeepSeek drew attention with a chatbot it claimed was developed more cost-effectively than its American counterparts.

Dancing humanoid robots also captivated audiences during a televised Chinese New Year gala.