Alep

Alep is supposed to be one of the oldest city in the world still inhabited. At least, it's the second city of Syria, and as you can see, a great mosk stands in the centre. It was build by the Omeyyades dynasty, as well as the one in Damascus.

As every big mosk in the middle east, this one is a place to pray but as well a place to meet. All day long families invest the yard...

...and all kind of children play, really happy when a nice tourist like me agrees to take a picture of the group. "What's your name?" or "from which country?" are ther most frequently asked questions...it is sometimes hard not to get fed up with it...

I did not understand why those old guys sit here. They all seem to be blind; maybe they are praying, and hope for a miracle...

This view is taken from Mohammed's window. Mohammed invites us for a tea and an argila, this water pipe so popular from Turkey to Marocco, in all the arabs and muslims countries. It is the center of Alep, rush hour at about 11 in the night...

Mohammed studies english litterature, I really hope for him he can leave Syria one day to study abroad, and improve his knowledge of english, already very good. Shoukran, my friend, mabruk and I hope to see you again one day, inch'allah!

Syria and the other arbs countries af the area are well known for their different Christian communities, remaining here 2000 years after Christ (supposed) resurection.

It's a bit uncommon for us, but here, you find churches with everything inside wrotten in arabic...

...evan the bible, where the word Allah stands for God. In fact, as many people I met, all believers of the 3 monotheists religions are brothers, all are sons of Abraham (Ibrahim if you prefer) and God is one, common for everyone...

This kind of peace message should be better diffused nowadays, here and in Lebanon...this is the Greek orthodox church, similar to the one I saw few weeks ago in Greece...

In the small streets of old Aleppo, we found as well fine Ottomans palaces, as well as I saw in Istanbul or Damascus...with refined gardens, so nice in these hot june afternoons...

Aleppo fortress is impossible to miss, on a rock around 30 meters over the city's level. Fist a royal palce built 1230 a.d., part of it was destructed by Mongols.

Of course, there is a mosk on top of the castle...

...and inside very beautiful rooms with wooden ceilings incredibly refined.

The city's museum is a kind of joke: we come 1 hour before the closing time, and we are said it's impossible to visit it...after insisting a bit bit, we manage to enter...and during our visit, a guard follows us in every room...very nice...this museum seems not to be maintained for a while, it's incredible because full of treasures totally abandoned...