Aleppo by Mart Lerou

A L E P P O

'1 voor 12' maart 2011

ALEPPO

'1 voor 12' maart 2011 mijn foto's zijn - een ode aan de bijna totaal verwoeste stad Aleppo, een der oudste steden ter wereld - een lofdicht aan alle Aleppijnen, grotendeels gevlucht voor de revolte van de 'Arabische Lente'

'1 to 12' March 2011 my pictures are - an ode to the almost totally destroyed city of Aleppo, one of the oldest cities in the world - a praise to all Aleppines, mostly fled because of the revolt of the 'Arab Spring'

Mart Lerou

GESCHIEDENIS VAN ALEPPO

Aleppo ligt in het noordwesten van Syrië. Het is tevens de grootste stad van dit land en een der oudste steden ter wereld. De meeste inwoners zijn Arabieren, dan Turkomannen, Koerden, Armeniërs, Arameeërs en Grieken. Ongeveer 20% zijn christenen. De Akkadische naam van de stad was Halab. Volgens overlevering rustte Abraham hier uit op zijn tocht van Ur naar het Beloofde Land. Hij zou zijn koe asj-Sjahba gemolken hebben boven op de heuvel waar nu de citadel ligt. In het Syrisch-Arabisch heet de stad Halaba asj-Sjahba. Aleppo wordt voor het eerst genoemd in het 3e millennium voor Christus. Vanaf 610 voor Christus volgde een periode van Perzische heerschappij tot de stad in 333 voor Christus door Alexander de Grote werd bezet. In 64 voor Christus werd Syrië door de Romeinen veroverd. In 637 viel zij in Arabische handen. De heersende dynastie van de Omajjaden bouwde in het begin van de achtste eeuw de Grote Moskee van Aleppo. In 1260 was het de beurt van de Mongolen om de stad te veroveren en te verwoesten. In 1517 werd Aleppo een deel van het Ottomaanse Rijk. Het was toen al een grote stad met 80.000 inwoners. Onder Frans koloniaal bestuur van Syrië (1920-1946) bloeide de stad verder op. Na het afstaan van de havenstad Antiochië aan Turkije in 1939, verloor zij overigens haar toegang tot de zee. Op 17 oktober 1850 was de stad toneel van rellen gericht tegen de christelijke minderheid. In 1947 vond er een pogrom plaats om de Joodse gemeenschap uit te roeien. Tijdens deze pogrom werd de oude synagoge van Aleppo in brand gestoken. Na het uitbreken van de Syrische burgeroorlog in 2011 werd Aleppo het toneel van hevige gevechten tussen de rebellen en het Syrische leger. De historische binnenstad is hierdoor nagenoeg volledig verwoest. In juli 2015 stortte ook de 13e-eeuwse citadel, die door het Syrische leger als basis werd gebruikt, deels in als gevolg van een explosie.

HISTORY OF ALEPPO

Aleppo is located in the North-West of Syria. It is the biggest city in this country and also one of the oldest cities in the world. Most residents are Arabs followed by Turkomannen, Kurds, Armenians, Aramaeans and Greeks. Around 20% of the inhabitants are Christians. The Akkadian name of the city was Halab. According to the tradition Abraham took a rest in Aleppo during his journey from Ur to the Promised Land. He would have milked his cow asj-Sjahba on top of the hill where we can find the citadel. In Syrian-Arabian the city is called Halaba ash-Shahba. Aleppo was first mentioned in the 3rd millennium BC. From 610 BC, a period of Persian rule followed until Alexander the Great took over the city in 333 BC. In 64 BC the Romans conquered Syria. In 637 Syria fell into Arabic hands. The ruling dynasty of the Omajjades built the Great Mosque of Aleppo at the beginning of the 8th century. In 1260 it was the turn of the Mongols to conquer and destroy the city. In 1517 Aleppo became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was already a big city with 80.000 inhabitants. Under the French colonial rule of Syria (1920-1946), the city flourished again. After handing over the port city of Antiochie to Turkey in 1939, she also lost her access to the sea. On October 17 1850 the city was a scene of riots directed against the Christian minority. In 1947 a pogrom took place in the city aimed at the Jewish community. During this pogrom the ancient synagogue of Aleppo was set on fire. After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 Aleppo became the scene of heavy fighting between the rebels and the Syrian army. As a result the historic inner city has almost been completely destroyed. In July 2015 the 13th-century citadel, which was used by the Syrian army as a basecamp, partly collapsed as a result of an explosion.

Citadel

Zicht vanaf de Citadel op de oude stad Top view from the Citadel of the old city

Bab Al Nas'r

Altelal

Khan Al Adilieh

Omajjaden Moskee met binnenhof Omajjad Mosque with courtyard

Souk Al Mdineh

Een deel uit het dagelijks leven A part of daily life

Saha Al Jdayda

SYRIA, THE TRAGEDY OF THE CENTURY.

Syria is one of the most ancient civilisations that have ever existed on this planet. This is where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time, followed by the alphabet and scripts that are known to mankind. Syrians have contributed through this world by interaction and their openess to other nations. They have enriched the human heritage in various areas, such as art and science. Today, the country is witnessing the bloodiest and most violent war that has occured in this modern era. The people are groaning and suffering under the weight of the brutality. Those who have decided to take up arms against each other disagree on everything, even terrorizing defenseless people, killing the innocent and destroying the country. They have agreed that anyone who is not with them, or on their side of the war, is the enemy. They have themselves decided to steal a childs smile, steal songs from the schools and to steal breadcrumbs from the hands of the man labouring for the the better of his family. They are stealing the peace of mind and tranquility of the elderly who are wanting to live their last years quietly. Syrians are living nowadays a major ordeal, around nine million people have fled their homes since this outbreak, which started in march 2011. They have become refugees in and outside of Syria, can you imagine this? Half of the Syrians have become homeless, and in addition to this tedious war, it has led to hundreds of thousands either being wounded or being killed. This is of course without counting the number of villages and citites which have been totally destroyed. The country has been torn and become prey to the control of many parties. Most of the Syrians have become trapped between the jaws of an unknown fate, either choosing to stay under the bombing, shelling siege, starvation, kidnapping and looting, or choose to escape the country and live with the humiliation of living in camps in neighbouring countries. This fleeing resulting in paying a high price, without guarantee of a result. They are putting their fate in the hands of human traffickers, smugglers and other brokers. Their journeys give people a little ray of hope that they can live a decent life in safety, this after losing even the minimum of necessities of their original lives in their own country. Ahmad, a refugee from Aleppo 6 february 2015

photography, layout, publisher Mart Lerou, Eindhoven photo frontcover: Citadel photo backcover: are they still alive?