What is Aleppo famous for?
Aleppo is known for trade, for its citadel and for laurel soap. The citadel does not stand on a hill — it is the hill, with thousands of years stacked beneath it. The covered Souq al-Madina and the Great Mosque sit on the same line, and the soap is still boiled from olive oil and laurel: after nine months of drying a bar comes out grey on the outside and green inside.
Highlights
- The Aleppo Citadel
- The Al-Madina Souq
- The laurel soap workshops
What to see
Bab Qinnasrin
The southern gate of Aleppo's old city, 1 kilometre from the Great Mosque. What stands is from 1256; the first gate was built in 964 and its doors came from Amorium.
Bab Antakiya
Aleppo's western gate and the entrance to the souq. Pass through it and the open street ends, the covered market begins. The natural start of the citadel line.
The Great Mosque of Aleppo
Founded in the 8th century at the west end of the Al-Madina souq. Its black-and-white paved courtyard, the minaret that fell in 2013, and the repair work today.
The Al-Madina Souq
Aleppo's covered market: kilometres of vaulted lane, khans scattered between them, and shops reopening section by section. Where to enter, how long, what to buy.
The Aleppo Citadel
On the mound at the centre of Aleppo; you still enter over the Ayyubid stone bridge. What to see, the city from the walls, entry 1500 SYP, visiting notes.
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- The answer on this page is written by hand. The lists are built from published records tied to this city and grow on their own as records are added.
- Last updated
- August 20, 2026