Once a vibrant city among the sands, Aleppo has long served as a regional administrative and commercial center and hosts the majority of industry of Northern Syria. One of the starting points of the ancient Silk Road, centuries of prosperity begin in Aleppo.

Those halcyon days are long gone, as the city has faced a steep decline since the end of the Ottomans. While Aleppo was a key administrative center during the French Mandate, the increased significance of Damascus as the new capital city drew power and influence away from the country's north.

During World War II, French forces were unable to offer meaningful resistance to the Turkish army. Fears that the city would follow Hatay and be annexed by Ankara were elided with Syria becoming an allied 'sister republic', but this did little to reverse the fortunes of the city.

Today Aleppo is a city of entropy. Effectively reduced to be a border town, its commercial and industrial base is syphoned north to fuel Anatolia's development. Meanwhile, unburdened by proximity to the Turkish frontier, Damascus benefits from Aleppo's decline, a state of affairs the city's denizens pray is soon made right.