Every Aleppian resident had once passed by the mesmerizing Al-Hatab Square, sat under the shadows of its iconic fig tree, bought astonishing handmade jewelry from the antique stores, or spent an evening in the Arabic style restaurants; enjoying the essence of the past centuries that manifests itself in every delightful fragrance of the traditional dishes mixed with the smell of the hundreds-years-old buildings. 

Its history goes back to the 15th century; when Christian citizens were estranged and alienized from the society. While Muslim population returned to Aleppo right after the withdrawal of the Mongols in 1420, the Christians were unable to return to their homes, and had no choice but to establish a new place for themselves just at the north of the city walls. 

As this quarter was thriving after the construction of Hammams, Khans and churches around Al-Hatab square, it became one of the busiest commercial hubs of the city, filled with European traders and people started calling it “Al-Jdaydeh”, referring to this new district. 

Unfortunately, like every single man-made affliction ends up in total damage of the society as well as the cultural heritage, the Syrian war was no exception, it destroyed the livelihoods of thousands, displaced millions and demolished our heritage and historic artifacts. 

Although in comparison, the historic heritage of the city does not take precedence over the livelihood of its residents and their state of safety, but no one can deny that the remnants hold the identity ingrained in our history, and the architectural elements demolished during the war were as a symbol of our people's history and heritage. 

It is not a secret that the seven years of armed conflict destroyed the majority of the ancient landmarks, and thus a cultural, architectural and touristic heritage that had accumulated during hundreds of ages was lost, only after the withdrawal of armed forces from Eastern Aleppo occurred in 2016, the hope of recovery was rekindled. 

Despite the fact that we, for multiple reason, probably failed to preserve this heritage from warfare, but we knew that it was almost a sacred mission to reconstruct and revive what has been once lost. It’s been three years now, that the governmental and international institutions took the responsibility of restoring the historical places such as Al-Hatab square. 

The area was proved to be safe for human use after the catastrophic series of underground explosions. The renovation of the square has started with the first and basic step; relay the rubbles, level the ground and backfill the craters.

Although the full recovery path is still far in sight, paved with many economic hurdles, but as a Syrian community we can’t wait to celebrate our rich architectural edifices that reflect the beauty and glory of our inherited legacy.