Souq az-Zirb

This is the first lane you step into if you enter the souq from the citadel. It is the main eastern entrance to Al-Madina Souq, roofed end to end in stone vaulting, with 71 shops lined up beneath it. Most of them sell cloth, along with the everyday goods bought by Bedouin customers. The name comes from an older trade.

Where the name comes from

The lane was originally Souq ad-Darb. Darb means to strike, and coins were struck here under the Mamluks; that is where the name began. Over time the pronunciation settled into Zirb. Like most lanes of the Aleppo souq, this one goes back to the 14th century.

Getting there

Walk west from the citadel square. Once the entrance bridge is behind you and you drop towards the market, the covered mouth in front of you is this lane. No sign is needed. Everyone who enters from the east end comes through here, and if you keep walking, the lane carries you into the souq towards the Great Mosque.

How long it takes

The lane is short. End to end it takes under a quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes if you stop at the windows. Az-Zirb is not a place you visit on its own. It is where the souq begins, and the walk proper starts after it.

What most people miss

The vault. At the entrance the arches are low and evenly spaced, as though laid out by one hand; deeper in, that order breaks down and the ceiling rises and drops. A few steps and a look back are enough to see it. Repair work continues and the number of open shutters in any lane shifts, so treat 71 as a record rather than a count of what is open today.