Conserving cultural heritage in one of the world's oldest cities

Aleppo, in northern Syria, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. This city of 2.5 million is centred on its citadel, rising some 50m above it, and it was here that the Prophet Abraham milked his cows.

Strategically located between Europe and Asia, Aleppo is mentioned in two Shakespearean plays, the Bible and the tablets of Ebla, the latter dating back to 2250 BCE. The city attracted traders who converged in its caravanserais, or domed warehouses, known by the Persian word khan (meaning palace). Here they stored and sold their goods. Amazingly, traders are still going about their business in Aleppo’s souks (covered markets), which are the most authentic in the Middle East.

Over the last 5,000 years, Aleppo has had its fair share of invasions, earthquakes, conquerors and poets. It was called Barois when it came under the rule of Seleucus I Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great who ruled modern-day Syria and Iraq in 4th century BCE. The city was later taken by Roman general Pompeii and became part of the Christian Byzantium Empire (64 BCE to 636 CE). The Persians also invaded it but it was the Muslims, in 636 CE, who finally succeeded in taking the city from Byzantium. This important trading centre became a prize fought over during the crusades (960-1020 CE) and was witness to many battles between Christians and Muslims.

In 1260, Aleppo was sacked by the Mongols. Severely weakened, the city was ruled by successive Muslim powers. Much of the city was rebuilt by the Mamluks, a Cairo-based Islamic caliphate. From the 16th century until 1918, Aleppo was part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1920, it came under the French mandate. Fifteen years later, in 1935, the French drew up the city’s first urban master plan, creating a “hygiene belt” around the city. Since Syrian independence in 1947, Aleppo’s development has been regulated by the 1954 Goutton Master Plan that saw major roads cutting through the city’s historic fabric.

Today, 100,000 Aleppians live in the Old City, which was largely built during the long Ottoman reign. In 1986, in recognition of its unique cultural heritage — particularly its urban culture — Old City Aleppo was declared a World Heritage Site (WHS) by Unesco. This was after the timely intervention by Hafeez Al-Assad, then president of Syria, who felt that efforts to “modernise” Aleppo in the 1960s and 1970s were threatening to ruin the city’s architectural legacy and special way of life. Efforts to make the Old City more “car-friendly” led to the demolition of houses; the expansion of roads isolated neighbourhoods, further disrupting life in the Old City.

In 1979, after Unesco submitted its report about the effects of modernisation on the city, the government decided to suspend the implementation of its 1974 master plan. In 1983, under the patronage of Hafez, a symposium for the conservation of Old Aleppo was convened. Three years later, Unesco declared Aleppo a “World Cultural Site” for having “preserved the authenticity of culture, tradition and social life as well as a comprehensive and original urban fabric”.

The Aleppo WHS has been able to attract funding and support from international organisations like the German Development Corporation (GTZ), the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development (AFSED) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). Since 1986, these three organisations have invested more than US$40 million. They have also provided technical support and helped build up local capacity to manage the site. Old City Aleppo, as the site is known locally, is also a recipient of funds from the Syrian-German “Debt Swap Agreement”.

All these funds have made it possible for the Directorate of the Old City (DOC) to implement a comprehensive Development Plan for Aleppo, which was completed in 1999 and officially adopted the following year by the Syrian government. The support from GTZ made it possible to conduct a baseline study that included a Landuse Survey, while funds from the AFSED paid for a Geographic Information System (GIS) that allows planners to monitor and regulate change. Analysis of the data collected between 1993 and 1997 allowed the DOC to create a land-use plan and the 1999 development plan.

There was also urgent need to protect Aleppo’s 10,000 private houses. The DOC identified some 3,000 that were in urgent need of repairs. Because Aleppo is a World Cultural Heritage site, the city continues to manage gentrification. While the buildings were unique, their inhabitants and their way of life needed equal attention. With the support from GTZ and the AFSED, the DOC was able to introduce a micro-loan facility and free technical support for rehabilitation purposes.

The AKTC, working with the Syrian Directorate for Antiquities, helped with the restoration works of the Aleppo Citadel. Today, the AKTC is leading the rehabilitation of the parameter around the citadel. It is also working towards making Aleppo more attractive to visitors.

“The keyword is sustainability”, says Ali Esmaiel, CEO of the AKTC. “We prefer the word ‘visitor’ instead of ‘tourist’. In Aleppo, we are working towards developing a public park and it will be a place where visitors get to meet the people living in the neighbouring areas. They will have a chance to become involved in their lives and, as our project in Cairo demonstrates, many return to the city after they get to know the people,” he explains.

The AKTC’s project in Cairo is world famous. The Al-Azahar Park was once the dumping site of Egypt’s capital city. It is now a major tourist attraction, after the AKTC’s Cairo team cleared away the rubbish and restored its 12th century Ayyubid Wall. But the most interesting aspect of the AKTC’s Cairo and Aleppian projects is the comprehensive approach that places great importance on social and economic inclusion.

Going forward, like many modern cities, Aleppo will need to do a lot more to achieve a balance between the needs of its modern economy and the needs of its uniquely built and living heritage. Here, the activities of the AKTC are inspirational. In 2007, after much study and the decision to build suitable car parks by the AKTC, the DOC agreed to “pedestrianise” the perimeter of the Aleppo citadel. AKTC also contributed towards the maintenance of the moat and provided lighting, street signs and information plaques. It is now a major public space, attracting locals and visitors to its cafés and restaurants.

While the 20th century posed the most serious challenge to Aleppo’s living heritage and nearly destroyed its built legacy, the 21st century is proving to be a more enlightened age. Under the policies of Syria’s President Bashaar Assad, a more participatory community is slowing emerging. Aleppians going about their busy lives can rest assured that they will hand over a much richer cultural heritage to future generations.

Dr Neil Khor believes in sustainable initiatives in heritage conservation. Traveller and writer of glossy books and political commentary, he is currently Post-Doctoral Fellow in History at Universiti Malaya.


Aga Khan Trust for Culture: Socio-economic project in Aleppo

The AKTC’s team in Aleppo spent some 12 months (2008/09) studying and understanding the communities living within the perimeter of their proposed public park. Rasha Arous, the AKTC’s socio-economic programme officer here, explains that this outreach programme was very useful. “We realised that there were very old families living in fabulous courtyard houses on one side and an economically depressed community on the other. There were also those living in high-rise flats and in an area that can be described as a slum, without any sanitation system,” she adds.

The challenge in Aleppo, and in many heritage sites, is how to balance conservation and gentrification. Luckily, the AKTC and all the different international agencies working here are like-minded in making sure Aleppians are not displaced no matter what their socio-economic position. “Displacing people never solves problems associated with urban development. Instead, we should build their capacity to better adapt to present-day challenges,” Rasha says.

In the Old City, where society is still very conservative and illiteracy is a major problem, the approach taken has been to reach out through education and social-networking projects. “We discovered from our surveys that the illiteracy and school drop-out rates here were much higher than national levels. We decided to work with the schools in the area, the mothers and the children themselves,” she says.

Throughout 2009, the team monitored the reasons for children dropping out of school. They met up with the teachers, conducted training sessions for them and reached out to the children’s mothers. “We worked with women who opened their doors to us. Through them, we were able to meet more women. They all share the same hopes. All of them wanted something better for their children,” Rasha says.

Another successful programme was the “Better Brides Programme”. Working with mothers and young women, the AKTC team carried out many “sharing of experience” sessions. “The aim is not to tell them what to do but to let the mothers share their experiences and for the younger women to learn from them.”

The team also monitors the performance of the children, and to encourage others, they recently helped seven girls to complete their middle school diplomas. Ali, together with the city’s mayor, presented the girls with their diplomas. The AKTC also agreed to help fund their future educational needs. “We feel that the community needs role models and more importantly, some goals that are achievable,” Ali says.

This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 788, Jan 11 – 17, 2010