The Grand Serail ( ar, سراي حلب الكبير, french: Grand Serail d'Alep) was the former seat of the governor of the Syrian city of Aleppo. It was built between 1928 and 1933 to serve as the main government building in the city. It was opened in 1933 during the period of the mayor Nabih Martini. The building is located to the south of the

Citadel of Aleppo The Citadel of Aleppo ( ar, قلعة حلب, Qalʿat Ḥalab) is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage ...

and adjacent to its main entrance. It is surrounded with the Citadel square and

Al-Sultaniyah Madrasa Al-Sultaniyah Madrasa (), is a madrasah complex located across from the Citadel entrance in the Ancient city of Aleppo, Syria. It is a religious, educational and funerary complex. It contains the tomb of sultan Malik al-Zaher the son of Ayyubid ...

from the west, Al-Otrush Mosque from the south, the Palace of Justice and Hammam Yalbugha from the east and the Citadel from the north.

History

The idea for the construction of a new government house came when the

State of Aleppo The State of Aleppo (french: État d'Alep; ar, دولة حلب ') was one of the five states that were established by the French High Commissioner of the Levant, General Henri Gouraud, in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo ...

was declared by the French General Henri Gouraud in September 1920. However, the construction started only in 1928, after the formation of the Syrian state under the French mandate. The serail was designed by the Syrian-Armenian architect ''Kegham Akgulian'', and the construction was carried out under the supervision of another Syrian-Armenian engineer ''Kevork Baboyan''. The inauguration of the building took place on 15 April 1933 to become the house of the government in Aleppo and the regular seat of the governor and the mayor of the city. It served as the house of the government until 2008, when the new building of the Aleppo city council was opened. In August 2014, the building was almost completely destroyed during the Syrian Civil War, by an underground explosion conducted by rebels against Syrian Army troops. Aleppo april 2009 9029

References

{{coord, 36, 11, 50, N, 37, 09, 46, E, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1933 Buildings and structures in Aleppo Buildings and structures demolished in 2014

History

See also

References