The citadel in Aleppo (حلب) has obviously been restored heavily, and the result is great. Some parts are still being landscaped, in particular the moat and its sides. Knowing another fine citadel, the one in Gaziantep in Turkey, which is currently (2009) being restored I was particularly surprised by the number of mosques, bath houses and other buildings within its walls. I suspect a lot of restoring made them look the way they do now, so be it. The views from the citadel are spectacular. I returned in September 2010 and repeated myself al lot, taking the same pictures of the same objects. But some things were different: I saw much more of the "Ottoman region" to the west of the entrance gate, the views from that area, and added pictures of what I overlooked last time: a Hittite temple being unearthed. It is amazing to see age old statues (48 were found, I was told) "in situ" in the heart of a vibrant modern city. I am sorry for not returning to my hotel, pick up the heavy telephoto equipment and my D2x and take detailed shots of the statues. I guess I'm getting lazy. I will mix the two series into one later. May take a while. Until then the new shots are behind the 2009 ones.

I understand the first use as a defensive site dates back to the 16th century BC, but what you see is mainly from the Ayyubid period, when the son of Saladin, Al-Zaher Ghazi, ruled. Not quite so: there has been a lot of devastation, in 1260 and 1440, after Mongol attacks.

Aleppo itself has a gallery of its own.