Aleppo, architecture - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Tabbaa, Yasser
Leiden
Brill
(2,994 words)
The urban landscape of Aleppo (Ar. Ḥalab) is dominated by its mighty citadel and punctuated by numerous minarets and several domes. Other than these monumental forms, the premodern architecture of Aleppo is largely horizontal, rarely exceeding two floors and lacking the massive portals and attenuated domes that characterise the architecture of Cairo or Samarqand, for example. Although some of its monuments, especially those from the eighth/fourteenth and ninth/fifteenth centuries have impressive facades, Aleppine architecture generally faces inward onto spacious and balanced courtyards, resembling in this respect and others