A recent article in The Guardian is a powerful account of the impacts of Syria’s civil war on the city of Aleppo. However, in stating that “all the reconstruction efforts so far are local”, it overlooks significant international involvement. Since 2018, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has restored eight key areas of the medieval souk in Aleppo’s old city, with ongoing rehabilitation planned, reviving shops and covered markets. AKTC’s efforts have motivated traders to privately restore their own shops in peripheral areas of the souk, delivered according to local standards. UN organisations such as UNESCO and UN-Habitat are also helping to restore elements of the city’s historic centre. An article published this month on the AKDN website, headlined The Aleppo Souk, Crucible of Memory, describes this work. Alongside the loss brought about by the war, it also portrays a city where international restoration is bringing a genuine sense of cautious optimism to the ancient medina. This narrative is real and deserves attention, writes Luis Monréal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, in a letter to the editor.