An iron wire sealed with a dot of red wax locks the entrance to the Baron hotel, witness to the heyday of Aleppo. Standing, but dented, like the second city of Syria.
The heritage of the old city, listed by UNESCO, was shattered during merciless battles between 2012 and 2016 between the Syrian army, which bombed from the sky supported by Russian aircraft, and rebel fighters including mortar shells and homemade rockets fell at random. and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
Syrian fighters, one of whom slipped a rose into the barrel of his rifle, at the entrance to the citadel of Aleppo, in northern Syria, December 17, 2024 / Ozan KOSE / AFP
Today, the city which fell on December 1st into the hands of a coalition of armed groups led by radical Islamists is emerging from the chaos to regain its senses.
“Unfortunately, more than 60% of the buildings in the old town are in ruins”deplores Georges Edleby, sworn tourist guide for 35 years.
Soaps and rosebuds
However, the National Museum of Aleppo is ready to reopen after some work. Shells ended up in the courtyard but the building was spared.
Jamal Habbal, a 66-year-old trader, in his shop in Aleppo, northern Syria, December 11, 2024 / Ozan KOSE / AFP
Above all, its treasures which retrace nine millennia of the history of humanity and the birth of writing in nearby Mesopotamia have been sheltered and protected.
“We learned lessons from the experience of our neighbors”indicates the director, Ahmad Othman, stressing that “the national museum of Iraq was looted”. “We have taken the necessary measures to protect our collections”.
“Statues too heavy to be moved were walled in concrete sarcophagi and small objects stored in secure locations”he adds.
Some terracottas were left on site. Two small female figurines with generous curves await visitors in their dirty window.
The Baron Hotel in Aleppo, northern Syria, December 13, 2024 / Ozan KOSE / AFP