Al-Hatab Square

This is the square of the Jdeideh quarter. It has been the meeting place here since the quarter was founded. The paved area covers 2500 square metres, and it is ringed by mansions, church entrances, antique dealers and craft shops that have kept the same trades for generations. The quarter was laid out in the 1420s outside the walls, and the square became the centre of this side of the city.

Getting there

Outside the walls, north of Bab al-Nasr. Ten minutes on foot from the old city. Every narrow lane in Jdeideh eventually arrives here, so getting lost also works as a method of navigation in this quarter.

What to see

The square itself and the facades around it. A round stone bench circles the tree in the middle, and the quarter gathers there in the late afternoon. Along the edges stand Ottoman charitable foundations, merchant mansions and houses turned into museums. The shops around the square sell copper, woodwork and handicrafts.

Where things stand

In April 2015 tunnels detonated beneath the square destroyed it and much of what stood around it. Craters were filled in 2017, rubble was cleared in 2018, and comprehensive repair began in 2021. The square is in use again and its paving has been renewed. Work continues on some of the surrounding buildings, and empty facades and restored ones stand side by side along the same edge.

What most people miss

The name itself. It means “firewood square”, and it is literal: this was the firewood and charcoal market of Aleppo for a long time, and today’s rows of shops still follow the line of that old market.