the souk / souq or bazaar in aleppo, syria, easter 2004
if you have a weakness for vaulted spaces, the seven kilometers (4.3 miles) of the aleppo souq will make you very, very happy as it did us.
though built more than a thousand years later than its roman precursor, the basic section of apollodorus' market is still visible here.
the place is alive with everyday trade and everyday goods and not yet a tourist trap like the bazaar we visited in marrakech.
...says ross burns in "monuments of syria", "it is still an animated arab bazaar city where the traditions of the arab middle ages do not seem all that remote. it still (perhaps more than any other city of the levant) works according to the conventions of commercial life unbroken since mameluke times".
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Comments and faves
Renato Augelli, khalid, wowo72, stadtbild, and 38 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Doctor Casino (68 months ago | reply)
Wonderful shot - complete with shaft of light! This is a really cool space, doing the same functional work as any narrow shopping street/market but made so much more distinctive by the vaulting. Was this in fact originally a Roman market, or is it a repurposing of something else?
seier+seier (68 months ago | reply)
some of the streets were originally roman, but the market and its vaults are all islamic.
my point with the comparison with trajan's market in rome was simply that the muslim builders stayed true to the lessons learned from the ancient cultures they conquered.
if you are in love with roman architecture, seeing its principles reinterpreted and alive in muslim buildings easily beats standing next to a pile of red bricks in europe.
seier+seier (68 months ago | reply)
oh, and the seven kilometers of souq was purpose-built, 12th to 16th century.
Doctor Casino (68 months ago | reply)
Fabulous information as always - thanks very much!
ftessa (68 months ago | reply)
delightful shot, the light taking body...
wish there was only one or two people
wowo72 (68 months ago | reply)
Thanks for that. Syria seems very interesting. A bit off the beaten track, although I am gonna give Marrakesh a try this xmas. I am not afraid of it after getting lost in Khan el-Khalili in Cairo :) However I expect to be surprised with what I see in this -as you called it- tourist trap. I believe we travel to be surprised.
seier+seier (68 months ago | reply)
there are good things in marrakech, don't worry!
seier+seier (68 months ago | reply)
there was one place I particularly regret not having brought my camera with me in marrakech: if you walk along the old city walls (on the outside) you will see many aspects of moroccan society that you don't get in the old town - good and bad. at the south end of the fortifications there is open land in front of the walls, just the way it was meant to be and very beautiful and dramatic in the afternoon light.
wowo72 (68 months ago | reply)
Thanks Seier, will try to visit the area, any other recommendations in morocco?
seier+seier (68 months ago | reply)
in morocco, I am sure you will find it frustrating like I did that the mosques are closed to non-believers. it is probably a good idea with all the tourism, though. I remember seeing en entire bus load of middle-aged german women refusing to take off their shoes and cover their hair as they entered the blue mosque in istanbul...I am still embarrased when I think about it today!
one mosque, the very old and fortified tin-mal mosque, is a museum and thus open...I think it is a daytrip from marrakech. we didn't go for various reasons but I now believe that was a mistake.
sisyphusrocks (62 months ago | reply)
beautiful photo. i'm writing my senior thesis on a topic related to syria and i'm looking for an image to put on the cover. might i use this one? i would happily credit you if i do.
seier+seier (62 months ago | reply)
you are more than welcome. good luck with your thesis.
wowo72 (62 months ago | reply)
tin-mal was worth two day detour and even a freezing night spent in concrete shed in a small village nearby
seier+seier (62 months ago | reply)
I can't believe I wrote that it was a daytrip if it took two days and a night in a shed!
wowo72 (62 months ago | reply)
oh, no worries, you can do it in one day. there were two reasons it took me two days. The first was the sensual overload I experienced after being 2 days in Marrakech. So I was happy to leave my friends there and do a solo trip into much calmer Atlas Mountains. The second was that I met a berber 'friend' on a taxi who offered me to stay at his house and adventurous part of me decided to believe that he meant what I thought he meant ;) it turned out that his definition of a house was much broader then mine, and included concrete shed with no doors. [will have to scan some slides of it]
It was a learning experience par excellence but that's what I believe traveling is about. The only downside was that I got sick for a few days to follow due to a horrible rainstorm that night.
arch_sana (60 months ago | reply)
yeah , when i walk here ,,, i feel so happy
spontaneous & inveterate place
7alab t7feeh ,, 2bos ro7a
seier+seier (60 months ago | reply)
thanks for your comment, sana. it is a great place and aleppo is a great city!
Heather(working alot) (57 months ago | reply)
Wow I wish I could see Syria! I love this!
peteshep (41 months ago | reply)
S+S+S: Such superb light!!
Our thin architecture of today risks losing space revealed by light.
And a reminder of a Marrakech medina souk:
seier+seier (40 months ago | reply)
a fine reminder, pete.
themoonmachine (38 months ago | reply)
Hello!
I just wanted to let you know that your photo was featured in a travel article on Matador Network! A link back to your photo stream has also been included.
You can view the article here:
matadortrips.com/4-reasons-why-i-want-to-trav el-to-syria-...
Thank you so much for sharing your great work! Feel free to add this and any other travel photography to our Matador Flickr Group.
Sarah
seier+seier (37 months ago | reply)
thanks sarah
iHataHet (37 months ago | reply)
Nicely done .. did u ever go to Damascus .. Old Damasqus ?
seier+seier (37 months ago | reply)
yes, we went to damascus too and enjoyed it very much - both the city and the people
" Don Quixote " (36 months ago | reply)
nice lighting
seier+seier (36 months ago | reply)
:)
themoonmachine (33 months ago | reply)
Hello!
Thanks for sharing this photo under Creative Commons! It's been featured in a travel article on Matador Network with a link back to your photostream.
You can view the article here:
matadortrips.com/straight-from-gmail-matador- team-tips-for-middle-east-travel
Thanks again!
Sarah
seier+seier (32 months ago | reply)
you are welcome
Marco de Waal (17 months ago | reply)
Nice picture! Excellent!
Marco
Hector Hurtado (15 months ago | reply)
You seem to have noticed something that most ignored. Passers-by miss out on so much by not taking the time to see.
seier+seier (15 months ago | reply)
well, the real beauty of the place is that it is a living monument, rather than a museum. people spend their lives there, working hard, enjoying life - and right now fighting for their lives. to the architect, living in a building always trumps simply looking at it.