Aleppo Nightlife

Marjorjos Park

Is popular spot for locals is a small park some of whom like to simply walk through the park as they go about their daily business. also families sit with their kids in under the trees and enjoy the views and the serinity.

Sharia ash-Shohada Open Air Bar
This large outdoor bar is located on Ash-Shohada Street. It offers both international and local beers. You can also try top quality Lebanese wines here.
Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Jon Sullivan

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Sissi House is known to be one of the best restaurants in Aleppo. Given our short stay in Aleppo in December 2006, we were unable to have dinner at Sissi House, but chose instead to have pre-dinner cocktails at the bar. Sissi House is located in a 17th century mansion and like many in the neighbourhood, it has a cavernous basement with stone walls and vaulted ceilings, where the bar is located. This is definitely a fun place for cocktails and the intriguing frescoes on the walls are a great conversation piece! It goes to show how liberal Syria can be...

Update: I had dinner at Sissi House in March 2008. Please read my restaurant tip for an account of the experience.

Beit Sissi does not only have a great restaurant, but also an interesting bar located underground in cavernous former cellars. Unfortunately, the place was empty when I went there so I left after taking a few snaps for this tip, and went back to Piccadilly where the crowds seem to have all moved.

With the thick warm cushions, the place looks and feels comfy. But what is more interesting are the reliefs on the walls. What do you see?

As the name suggests, it's an English pub, or rather Sheraton Aleppo's version of one. Since the hotel's soft opening in February 2007, Piccadilly is fast becoming the official watering hole of Aleppo's moneyed scions - but they don't seem like spoiled brats to me, at least the ones I've met here.

The bar plays some good tunes, albeit a bit outdated, and the waiters and bar tenders will win you over with their friendliness. If you get the good fortune of meeting the head chef of their Asian restaurant - a Filipino named Numeriano - who's very popular with the local crowd here, he might send you a plate of yummy sushi and sashimi, for free.

Dress Code: None

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Baron Hotel is perhaps Aleppo's most historical and its bar is a place of pilgrimage of sorts for TE Lawrence's fans. Although I'm no fan of his (of TE Lawrence, that is), I still decided to check out the bar for some beers - Efes, the famous Turkish beer, in this case (the other option was Stella, Egypt's flagship beer).

I actually liked the friendly and laidback vibe of the place, but didn't feel anything different (or weird) about its historical significance. It was nice that there were some other friendly tourists to chat with. Overall, a fun night.

Dress Code: None

I visit the place frequently with my friends,what I like the most about it that it's so calm with selected music played. The enterance will charm you for sure a wall of cups,yes and inside it's like many living rooms with very comfortale seats and couchs..

it's a self service cafe,but the luxury of every thing,the amazing simple decotarion makes you stay at least twice the period you wanted to stay..the Espresso was great.
it's a perfect place to have conversation,business conversations and deals, friends meeting and couples searching for a relaxing cafe away from crowds and no Shisha is alouded.

free interent (unlimited hours) so I bring my laptop sometimes and coffee is served with so many falvours..I loved it.

for foriegns ,you can take a taxi from city center to the cafe for only 25 syrian liras (0.5$)

you should expect expensive prices,around 80 SL for each popular drinks but I'm still so glad to pay.

Dress Code: As it's almost home ,you can wear wahtever you want no bounderies,liberty community ,no hassales...

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Aleppo hosts an annual jazz festival every July. The free concerts are held in the citadel's amphitheatre. One of the sponsors of the festival is the president's wife, so the president usually attends the final night. I was sitting just ten seats away from President Bashar al-Assad and, along with a group of reporters, managed to take a photograph of him. He was smiling and relaxed. But, his bodyguard was not.

The musicians at the festival come from Europe, North America and Syria, and play a lot of Arab-jazz fusion music.

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I never stayed at the Baron hotel, as I had an apartment all of the time I lived in Aleppo. But, I often used to go there to drink beer with friends at night. Most Thursday nights, Aleppo's international community meets there for drinks on the terrace. Some nights, overland tour groups from Europe are also there.

The hotel bar, which is just inside the entrance, on the left, is usually empty, as most people prefer to sit on the terrace.

On The Second Night...
These photos below were taken by me as Assad & his brother accompanied me back to my hotel from their house.
As I was with them for 5 hours, & it was nearly 11 pm, I didn't have the time to capture more night photos around Aleppo.
We walked pass The Great Mosque but it was in a state of renovation...sadly.
This mosque was started by Kaliph Al-Walid who also founded The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus !
This mosque in Aleppo was completed by his successor Kalip Suleiman...
Nevertheless this mosque has been rebuilt again & again along the centuries !
It looks that it is BEING re-built again yes ?