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The dream of Inanna | a song for Aleppo

by The Aleppo Project on June 9, 2016

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One of the greatest Goddesses of Mesopotamian mythology, Inanna’s descent to the underworld, her death and miraculous revival with the help of the Gods, share commonalities with the ongoing tragedy in Aleppo and Syria. When passing the seven gates of the underworld, Inanna was stripped of her clothes, which symbolized her power. Similarly, Aleppo and Syria have been stripped of their economic, political and human power during the past five years. While Inanna made it back to the heavens and was revived with the aid of the Gods, Aleppo and Syria still wait for the resolution of this devastating conflict.

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The Aleppo ProjectThe dream of Inanna | a song for Aleppo

The Aleppo Weekly – May 17 – 30

by The Aleppo Project on May 31, 2016

A recent anonymous author’s photo (weekly featured image) of Aleppo’s Clock Tower has been circulating in Syrian social media. The structure, one of Aleppo’s main sites, has endured some damage, especially to the clock part of the tower. Access to the area is restricted as it became at the frontline on the regime controlled side.

 


Qabas educational organisation in Aleppo takes its students in a “historical tour” around the Old City. They visited, among other sites, Bimaristan an-Nouri – a 12th Century mental institution where patients used to be treated with means that included the sound of water fountains.

 

World Bank report: Aleppo is the worst hit Syrian city, with housing and energy the most badly affected sectors.

 

A video from an anonymous French source of Aleppo’s most famous fawwal, or ful cook, Abu Abdo, shows rare footage of the lively interaction between the customers and the renowned fawwal.

 

Radio Hara FM publishes videos from Old Aleppo in 360 degree imaging

 

Aleppian programmer invited to participate in the Google I/O 2016 conference in the US was rejected visa, creating sympathy and discontent in Syrian social media. Here’s about his company’s most popular app, Gherbtna (Our Expatriation).

 

ASOR launches its Cultural Heritage Monitor app for phones and PC. It allows people to report on status quo of sites as well as violations, such as artefact theft.

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The Aleppo ProjectThe Aleppo Weekly – May 17 – 30

Aleppo Conflict Timeline

by The Aleppo Project on May 17, 2016

The Aleppo Project published the “Aleppo Conflict Timeline” – a chronology of the conflict in Aleppo since 2012.

The Aleppo Project Fellow Armenak Tokmajyan studies the development of the armed conflict in Aleppo, the evolution of armed groups and government forces, and their military tactics and strategies. The timeline analyzes the Geneva Peace Process and its implications on the ground. The report also sheds light on the humanitarian situation in the divided city. The extensive report includes 35 original maps designed by the author.

The report will be updated at the beginning of every month.

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The Aleppo ProjectAleppo Conflict Timeline

Civilians Under Fire, The Aleppo Weekly, May 4-9

by The Aleppo Project on May 10, 2016

Fighting raged in and around Aleppo despite attempts to re-instate the ceasefire.

Increased bombing on both sides of the city killed numerous civilians and caused state school exams and classes to be suspended in western Aleppo most of last week. The pro-Assad Liwa al-Quds Brigade, composed of Palestinian Syrian fighters from Aleppo, announced it had lost 46 fighters in a tunnel bombing in Zahraa District on the city’s western outskirts on 3 May.

Fighting was particularly intense in the countryside south of Aleppo, where rebel groups captured the strategic town of Khan Touman, 23 civilians were killed in an air strike on Oum al-Karameel, and Afghan militia fighters and 13 Iranian Revolutionary Guards “advisors” were killed.

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The Aleppo ProjectCivilians Under Fire, The Aleppo Weekly, May 4-9

Syrian refugee students rebuild from Beirut

by Sean Coughlan on May 4, 2016

“It is hard to have much hope for Aleppo,” says the project’s blog. “One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world has been torn apart by war.

“Rebuilding will take many decades, but it can start very suddenly. When that moment comes, it is important to be ready.”

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Sean CoughlanSyrian refugee students rebuild from Beirut

#AleppoIsBurning

by The Aleppo Project on May 2, 2016

The last two weeks of April 2016 will have sealed the connection between Aleppo and war for many decades to come. Just as the words Beirut and car bomb are inextricably linked, so will be Aleppo and barrel bomb. Certain places become tied to the pitiless nature of war: Hiroshima, Dresden, Biafra, Sarajevo, Stalingrad, Hue. And now Aleppo.

Aleppo’s war will be remembered for the immediacy with which the world has seen its horrors. No longer does it take time for us to know about the bombing of the Al Quds Hospital as it is live tweeted. Just hours later it was possible to see chilling images of Dr. Mohammad Massim Maaz, the last pediatrician at work in eastern Aleppo, walking between wards just before the government killed him in an airstrike.

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The Aleppo Project#AleppoIsBurning