View of the fortified entrance and the o

View of the fortified entrance and the outer gate of the Citadel of Aleppo on August 28, 2008 in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace which is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamluks, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period. A great deal of conservation work has taken place in the 2000s by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in collaboration with the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities. AFP PHOTO PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP via Getty Images)