ALEPPO

HOTELS
●Dar Zamaria Martini – off Alhatab Square; 011-963-21-363-6100; darzamaria.com; incorporates several houses, courtyards, and oriental-themed suites.
●Jdayde Hotel – Alhatab Square; 011-963-21-212-1197; jdaydehotel.com; right on square; rooftop restaurant offers citadel views.

RESTAURANTS
●Al-Hareer – just off Alhatab Square; 011-963- 21-211-6880 or 6881; serves alcohol; stunningly beautiful restaurant serving excellent Aleppine specialties; 18th Century space in Jdeideh Quarter; decorated with burgundy velvet and silk fabrics (hence name al-Hareer, “silk”) to complement vaulted ceilings and brick walls.
●Jdayde Hotel – Alhatab Square; 011-963-21-212-1197; jdaydehotel.com; right on square; rooftop restaurant offers citadel views.
●Juice Bar – Bab al-Faraj Square; open all-night.
●Sissi House – Sharia as-Sissi; 011-963-21-212-4362; sissihouse.com; best dish in town is here: lamb kebab smothered in cherry sauce.
●Zmorod – Raheb Bouhaira Street; 011-963-21-211-5777; zmorod.com; beautiful, kitschy, with karaoke; excellent food.

SERVICES
●Abdou Aleido – 011-963-98-817-4256; local English teacher who offers 5-hour tours of Aleppo’s old city.

SHOPPING
●Hammam el Nahasin – for men only; relaxing massages and steam baths.

SIGHTS & SITES
●Old City – best time to visit is early morning, when stalls shuttered and inlaid, wooden doors are visible.
●Souk – Arab world’s most impressive souk; sprawling network of noisy corridors and cramped stalls where can buy every type of spice, sweet soap, silk, dried fruit, carpet, metal, jewelry, and water pipe; slabs of camel meat in butcher section; is actual market, not tourist trap.