'The most beautiful and elegant city in the world'
By Lina ShaikhouniBBC Monitoring
10 December 2016
Throughout the long battle for Aleppo, as
Syria's most ancient city has been blasted into ruins around him, one
man has worked continuously to preserve an image of the city as it once
was, before the horrors of war arrived.
A little over 10
years ago Alaa al-Sayyed unlocked a sealed basement in his wife's
parents' house and made a fascinating discovery. No-one had entered the
room for years, possibly decades, and among the family memorabilia
al-Sayyed found more than 100 photographic plates taken by the Wattar
brothers - ancestors of his wife - illustrating scenes of daily life in
Aleppo in the 1920s and 30s. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesImage copyrightAleppo National Archives"The more I researched the history of the images,
the more deeply I delved into the history of each neighbourhood and
building in the city," he says. In 2010, he published a book, Aleppo's
History in Pictures - and two years later Syria's war began. Each shell
that landed on his native city, each bomb that exploded, he felt
personally.
When, in 2013, several important libraries containing
thousands of important documents were burned down or destroyed, he was
spurred into action. It became his mission to make digital copies of
every historically important document and photograph he could find, and
upload them to the web for posterity. Al-Sayyed had already been visiting
libraries and digitising historical papers for some years, but he
stepped up his activities with the help of three student volunteers. In
2014 they launched the Aleppo National Archives, using a Facebook page as a public showcase. Image copyrightAleppo National Archives"We worked under conditions of war, siege, and power
and water cuts," he says. "We also lost internet connection for long
periods of time." Without external funding, they scanned everything from
rare books and government documents to family records, and maps. Even
recent maps hold importance when the layout of the city is being altered
on a daily basis. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesAmong the Aleppo newspapers in the archive are some
that date back to the 19th Century. "Newspapers are treasure troves
documenting daily life in the city and their issues are often destroyed
and rarely saved," al-Sayyed says. Many of those he has digitised have
since been destroyed. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesImage caption
For a while the al-Furat newspaper, founded in 1867,
was published in Armenian script (left) as well as Arabic
As well as exploring libraries, al-Sayyed has spent a
lot of time going through the contents of attics and cellars of private
homes - and using his powers of persuasion to impress upon the owners
the importance of making a digital record.
As time went on, and
the war intensified, his volunteers left the city. He and his family
have remained, however, partly because of his attachment to his personal
library. "The biggest reason I did not leave may be due to my inability
to leave my books," he says. "Separating from them is difficult." He
still uploads new images to the archive with the help of a friend in
Canada. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesImage caption
A photograph al-Sayyed took in the last few days reveals serious damage to the old city
The archive's photographs provide a record of the
city that is valuable both for those who have remained in the city
during the past four-and-a-half years of conflict, and those who have
left. Before the war Aleppo had a population of more than two million,
but according to some estimates this figure has more than halved.
"May
God rest your soul Aleppo… I cannot breathe without your air," reads
one comment. Another: "May God bring back the mornings spent in Aleppo."
A third reads: "Did I not tell you that it is the most beautiful and
elegant city in the world." Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesBut the photographs also record the tragedy of the
city's destruction. The citadel, at the heart of the city, was usually
bustling with noise and people, from morning to night. Cafes near the
main gate were filled with people playing cards and smoking Argileh
(Shisha) water pipes.
Today the area is deserted and most of its
buildings destroyed. In 2014 rebel forces detonated a bomb underneath
the Carlton Hotel, which they said was being used by the army, and razed
it to the ground. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesImage caption
Cafe awnings can be seen to the left, the Carlton Hotel to the right
Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesThe al-Madina souk - a large network of stone
alleyways which dates back to the 14th Century and used to be filled
with stalls selling everything under the sun - was burned in 2012. Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesImage caption
Bead sellers at the souk, before the war
Image copyrightAleppo National ArchivesBefore the war began al-Sayyed used to relax with
his wife and two children by visiting buildings of historical or
architectural interest.
"I used to take them on a tour every
Friday and explain things to them in detail," he says. "It was as though
I had a feeling in my heart that they would not be able to see them
later."
