A large-scale restoration and maintenance work, funded and supervised by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), recently commenced in the Citadel of Aleppo in a bid to conserve the medieval fortified palace. "We are restoring the castle's main entrance after reinforcement, along with fulfilling precise mechanical treatments to halt decay, strengthen deteriorated stones without replacing the original stone itself in addition to stone grouting," said engineer Basil al-Zaher, the contractor of restoration work. The Citadel of Aleppo, built on a high rocky hill in the centre of the city, is one of the oldest and most prominent monuments in the Middle East. Over the past years, the citadel has sustained significant damage during the Syrian civil war, compounded by the powerful earthquake that rocked the area in February 2023.