Aleppo

General Information

Aleppo is a city in the northern parts of Syria in the province Aleppo [1]. It is 50 km from the Turkish border [2]. The city is built on both sides of the river Quwaig, and is an important place of Islamic culture [1]. Its inhabitants practice many religious beliefs. The largest group are the Sunni Muslims, but there are also many Alawites and Christians. In this area Turkmen, Kurdish people and Jewish live together [2]. Since 2008 Aleppo has been the second largest city in Syria with a population of approximately 2.5 million [1]. “It has one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East” [2].

Industry

In older times, there was a large production of “Aleppo soap” which was made of olive oil. They had trading relations with French, English, Italian and Dutch merchants. This trading ability began to decline when the European merchants found an overseas route to India [1].

Today, the main exports from Aleppo are wheat, pistachios, sheep, olives and cotton [1]. The province is especially known for its pistachios [2].

Plague in 1828

In the year 1828, the Plague wiped out about 20 to 25 percent of the population [1].

[1] “Aleppo” Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo (06.04.2019)

[2] “Aleppo” Encyclopaedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Aleppo (08.04.2019)