Souq al-Haddadin

One of the doors used by anyone entering the old city from the north, and the blacksmiths’ market as well. The lane holds 37 registered workshops and is regarded as the traditional smiths’ market. It belongs to the small group of Aleppo lanes where the name and the work still agree.

Into the city from the north

The old city of Aleppo is entered from the north at several points, and al-Haddadin is one of them. The root of the name is shared with Bab al-Hadid, the Iron Gate, on the same side of the city: hadid is iron, haddad is the smith. Ironwork ended up in the name of both the gate and the market. That is not coincidence but the trace of a trade that gathered at this end of town.

What the workshops make

Smithing here is not ornamental work but a trade still in use: window grilles, door fittings, hinges, locks, hand tools, farm iron. The workshops are small and open to the street, so the work is visible as you pass. A lane still practising the craft it is named for is unusual in the Aleppo souq; most of them moved to cloth long ago.

How long it takes

Twenty minutes. This is not a lane people come to for shopping. They come to look, and looking does not take long. Think of it as the first link in a walk that begins at the northern gates.

What most people miss

The sound. You find this lane by ear rather than by eye: hammering carries from both ends of the street and tells you where you are before any sign does. At midday the sound stops, the workshops close and the lane becomes a different place. Ask the smith before you photograph anyone. A working forge is not an exhibit.