In response to a recent article on Aleppo’s reconstruction, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has highlighted significant international involvement that was overlooked. The trust notes that since 2018, it has restored eight key areas of the medieval souk in Aleppo’s old city, with ongoing rehabilitation planned, reviving shops and covered markets.
According to Luis Monréal, general manager of AKTC, these efforts have motivated traders to privately restore their own shops in peripheral areas of the souk, delivered according to local standards. UN organisations such as Unesco and UN-Habitat are also helping to restore elements of the city’s historic centre.
Monréal points to an article on the Aga Khan Development Network website titled “The Aleppo Souk, Crucible of Memory”, which describes this work. Alongside the loss brought about by the war, it portrays a city where international restoration is bringing a genuine sense of cautious optimism to the ancient medina. He emphasises that this narrative is real and deserves attention.
