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The direct road from Damascus to Aleppo is 300 kilometres long and passes largely through countryside and empty, battle-ravaged villages. This route was restored in 2019-20 after the Syrian army seized the southern half of northwest Idlib province from a collection of armed groups, including Ahrar al-Sham and al-Qaeda affiliate Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (ex-Jabhat al-Nusra). The opening engagement in this campaign was at Khan Sheikhoun north of Hama. I visited the village in September 2019 soon after this battle when the army’s area of control extended for only a few kilometres to the north. Now about half if Idlib is in government hands. Turkey has built military posts and bases in the top half which is held and ruled by Tahrir al-Sham and protects it and other armed groups from government forces.

My German colleague Karin and I were driven to Aleppo from Damascus by Joseph who, when Syria was at peace, guided tourists to the country’s major archaeological and historical sites. Since unrest and war erupted in 2011, he has switched to journalists who benefit from his knowledge, contacts, and skilled driving. On the evening of our arrival, he suggested we visit the Citadel, where citizens of this city gather on weekends and holidays.

Eid al-Fitr provided hard pressed Syrians with chances to meet family and friends and celebrate in the streets of Aleppo. Families flocked to the Citadel, the symbol of the city. Many came in cars despite the high price of petrol. Others left their electricity-deprived homes on foot to walk through dark streets to be greeted by lights and occasional bursts of music from radios of cruising cars. The more prosperous families took tea and coffee and smoked shisha in cafes which had taken over the wide plaza below the towering fortress. Youths with little money sat on benches or the wall on the edge of the Citadel’s moat and chatted with pals. Children were everywhere.

Running loose or clinging to their parents, riding bikes and scooters, posing for photos on horses, and eating popcorn. For an hour or two Syrians could forget the the warfare that has punished their country, killed and maimed hundreds of thousands, and the US-driven sanctions which prevent Syria from rebuilding and recovering. This was a celebration for Syrians of every class and every background. They have the traumas of the war and this year’s earthquake to exorcise.

Aleppo was the Syrian province which sustained most damage when the twin 7.8 and 7.6 earthquakes struck in northwest Syria and southeast Turkey on Feb.6. It is estimated that 8,476 Syrians died in the quakes, thousands were injured and rendered homeless, and millions were affected. The quakes stole family members, relatives, homes, and jobs.

While struggling against economic meltdown due to the punitive US-driven sanctions regime, Syrians applaud the efforts to reconstruct cultural heritage savaged by warfare and the quakes. They remain proud of their heritage and eager to see the Citadel and their war ravaged mosques, souqs, and churches rebuilt although people’s homes are at low priority. The Old City in its entirety is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many shops in the famed souqs of Aleppo’s Old City were burned and blasted by fighting and are in the process of being reconstructed by the Aga Khan Trust.

My German colleague Karin, Joseph and I climbed the ancient stone stair to the grassy top of the Citadel, the mighty symbol of Aleppo, of its ancient, Byzantne, and Islamic history and endurance. The quakes inflicted limited damage to the Citadel, mainly to its mosque and minaret. The minaret has suffered cracks and may have to be rebuilt. Small sections of the wall which encircles the Citadel have partially collapsed.

The Citadel is believed to be based on foundations dating to the third millennium BC. The patriarch Abraham is believed to have milked his sheep on the mound on which the Citadel stands. The site was fortified by a series of conquerors until, in the late 12th century, the son of Salahedin, al-Zahir al-Ghazi reconstructed and enlarged the Citadel. Its fortunes waxed and waned with changes in the fate of Aleppo but came into its own during Syria’s recent civil and proxy conflict when the Syrian army fended off attack by Turkish-sponsored fighters. Damage done during this period has largely been repaired.

We also went to Aleppo’s Great Mosque which sustained heavy damage during fighting in the Old City with Jabhat al-Nusra. The square minaret was brought down and its 2,000 blocks of limestone were piled in its courtyard. The collapse of the minaret constituted a great loss to Syria’s unique cultural heritage. When last visited the mosque in March 2017, reconstruction had not begun. The arcade which runs along three walls was burned and holed while the prayer hall was severly damaged.

Since then the mosque has been brought to life again. It is being reconstructed by Syrian masters in pristine white stone with wooden doors made by local carpenters. The courtyard and arcade are building sites. A great deal of work still has to be dome before a muezzin will raise his voice to issue the call to prayer. The minaret, still incomplete, stands near the entrance, shimmering in the morning sun. The old stones remain in the courtyard, numbered; their centuries-old carvings are being reproduced by contemporary stone cutters.

Reconstruction has been funded by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadirov whose foundation has donated $14 million and is ready to give more to finish the mosque, which was constructed during the Umayad period (661-750 AD) and was an early model for Islamic houses of worship. A close ally of Russia, Kadirov, reportedly, adopted the view that his country should repair the damage inflicted by Chechen fighters who joined Nusra and Daesh during the war against Syria.