Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Aleppo's Great Mosque contained a tomb associated with Zachary, father of John the
Baptist. The mosque, founded about AD 715, was wellappointed with illuminated extracts
from the Koran on the wall. It also had a doorway that allowed entry directly from the Souq.
The Souq was medieval and atmospheric, with only a half-light penetrating some of the pas-
sageways. On strolling through, I found myself noticing the way women always seemed to
carry their babies rather than have them in a pusher or the like. This seemed universal and
was noticeable both in Jordan and Damascus.
We came out of the Souq close to the enormous Citadel with its massive walls, moat and
drawbridge structure. We knew it was Tuesday and the Citadel would be closed. Neverthe-
less we continue to be the eternal optimists and sought to gain entrance. The gatekeeper
knocked us back and, with a soulful look up to the entrance portal we turned and departed.
As we did this guy walking up the drawbridge approached and asked:
“Would you like to get in?”
“Yes.”
“I am the Director, I will let you in”.
And he did, halle-bloody-lujah. First the gateway. It was at a 90-degree angle from the draw-
bridge, followed by a straight run of about 30 feet then another 90-degree angle. Perfect de-
fence. Each straight run would have been too short to mount a good battering ram against
the gate. At the same time, there were ceiling and side apertures, which allowed the defend-
ers to repel the attackers.
Once inside the Citadel, it was a little more benign, like a small city, with stairways and pas-
sages going in every direction. It would have been a beast to get into and a beast to conquer.
It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world and the usage of the
Citadel hill for defensive purposes dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium
BC.
