Aleppo’s Jdeideh on foot: the Catholic cathedrals and the Central Synagogue

The church lanes of Jdeideh set four Catholic communities side by side, a hundred metres apart. The Armenian Catholic cathedral was converted from a merchant house. The Maronite cathedral of 1873 faces Farhat Square. The Greek Catholic cathedral was paid for with the jewellery of the congregation’s women, and Mar Assia al-Hakim was rebuilt in 1500. From there the walk drops south to Bahsita and ends at the door of the Central Synagogue, where the Aleppo Codex was kept for 500 years. 800 metres, five stops. Three of the cathedrals reopened after the war, between 2019 and 2020; the synagogue is closed and its restoration continues.

The route

The Armenian Catholic cathedral stands on Tilal Street, where Aziziyah meets Jdeideh. Walk 170 metres east and you come out on Farhat Square; the front of the Maronite cathedral closes its far end. This Mar Elias is not the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Cathedral by the Queiq. The Greek Catholic cathedral is about 100 metres further on, right beside the church courtyard. From there turn east into the narrow lane: Mar Assia al-Hakim is 170 metres on, its long wall lining the edge of the street. The last leg is the longest. Walk about 400 metres south towards Bahsita; the synagogue lies south of Bab al-Faraj, and only its outer wall and door can be seen.

Timing

The churches are open at service times and otherwise you ask at the courtyard gate, so put the walk in the morning. At 10:00 you are in the Armenian Catholic courtyard: before going in, look at the two-storey front of the old house; half an hour is enough. Be on Farhat Square at 10:40; the statue and the front are outside and the interior takes one circuit, forty minutes in all. At 11:25 move to the Greek Catholic courtyard and walk under the arcade to the statue. By 12:05 you are in the lane of Mar Assia; pacing the wall and looking inside takes half an hour. At 12:40 you are in front of the synagogue. Fifteen minutes from outside; the walk ends around 13:00, with Bab al-Faraj a few minutes north. If you meet a service, add an hour.

Take care

All four are working churches: do not walk around or take photographs inside during a service. At the Armenian Catholic cathedral the liturgy is in Armenian; ask at the door when it starts. Even when the courtyard gate looks locked, you can ask at the archbishop’s residence beside it. The fronts of the Maronite and Greek Catholic cathedrals have been through repairs; the Greek Catholic front is not the front of 1843. The belfry of Mar Assia, dating to 1881, was destroyed by shelling in 2012. The Central Synagogue is closed to visitors and under restoration; do not try the door, and plan to see only the outer wall. The Aleppo Codex is not here; it left the city after 1947. None of the stops charges an entry fee.