The joint cooperation of the public and private sector of Syria in order to restore the historical fortress of Aleppo/exclusive report

, the historical fortress of Aleppo has been damaged by earthquakes three times during the last thousand years. The first devastating earthquake in 1157 destroyed the city of Aleppo and caused a lot of damage to this castle.

.

After about 8 centuries, another devastating earthquake killed John Bish He took Aleppo from 20 thousand people and of course destroyed this famous fortress. On February 6, 2023, the third earthquake after 200 years caused damage to this castle, which is more severe than the damage caused by the Syrian war. In the shadow of years of war and destruction and the devastating earthquake disaster of February 6, 2023, the Syrian government authorities are trying to restore this spiritual heritage of Syria in a year with the cooperation of the private sector and once again expose it to the public.

“Mohammed Noor Habak”, the director of Aleppo Castle, told the reporter about the disastrous consequences of the earthquake on this historic castle. Tasnim in Aleppo says: Unfortunately, the recent earthquake left a lot of damage and destruction in some important parts of the castle.

He added : One of the most important parts of this castle that you can see right now is the entrance to the castle, which of course is the only way to enter the castle and its main part. The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, in order to preserve the lives and safety of the personnel present in the castle and the visitors, has suspended the visit to the castle until a certain date, i.e. until the restoration of the entrance door of the castle is completed, so that people can leave this historical building with peace of mind.

Most of the buildings of this castle that remain today were developed and expanded during the Ayyubid period. The supporting walls of the minaret of this historical castle have cracked. There is also a tower near the “Qa’a al-Arsh” building, which has been damaged. Other parts of this fort are also partially damaged. Expert estimates indicate that at least 30% of this historic castle was destroyed by the earthquake and the Ottoman mill was also destroyed. The most serious damage has been done to the facade of the castle and its gate.

In front of this fact and despite the silence and lack of cooperation of UNESCO in the restoration of this spiritual heritage. Syria was the only way to take measures to prevent the total collapse of this fortress, which could happen in the long run. In this way, Syrian engineers are calmly and skillfully repairing the damages caused to the castle.

Bashar Skif, one of the officials of the “Syrian Development Foundation” also emphasized the need to preserve the cultural identity of Syria and said: the reconstruction and restoration of this work A history has been started through engineering surveys in the entire territory of Aleppo in line with the responsibility that we have at the Syrian Development Foundation to preserve the material and spiritual heritage of Syria, especially the ancient area of ​​this city.

He added: Many engineering studies have been done by specialists in the ancient area of ​​Aleppo. This area is very important due to its historical and archaeological features, including the presence of churches, mosques, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to restore and strengthen these historical buildings that have been damaged by earthquakes or in the past due to war. Therefore, a workshop was held in Aleppo, where experts, technicians and interested people attended the workshop, suggestions were made and all the damaged buildings were presented and reviewed in a list.

In this meeting, priorities for immediate and emergency reconstruction were determined. The first item on the list of experts was the reconstruction of Aleppo Castle, which was completely reviewed during the discussions.

Aleppo Castle has heritage and historical importance Therefore, the first thing that had to be done was to strengthen and restore the entrance door of this castle. We, as the Syrian Development Foundation, have a duty to pay attention to these elements, which are the material and non-material heritage of Syria, in order to preserve the cultural identity of Syria