The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has published the Arabic edition of "Aleppo: Heritage and Civilisation" by Jean-Claude David, as part of its Kalima Translation Project, translated into Arabic by Dr Hala Ahmad Aslan and reviewed by Dr Kazim Jihad.

The book explores Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. David presents a comprehensive study of the city’s origins and evolution within its geographical and cultural context, questioning the secret of its enduring vitality through the ages. Is it the multiplicity of historical layers it has accumulated since the third millennium BCE, or a cohesive identity capable of withstanding the political and cultural upheavals that have shaped the region?

David also asks whether Aleppo still retains living traces of its Byzantine, Roman, Hellenistic, Aramaic, Hittite, and Akkadian past, or if only silent walls and artefacts remain, bearing witness to what remains of its history.

The book examines the dialectic of memory and identity within the context of Aleppo, offering a multidimensional reading of the city as simultaneously Islamic, Christian, and Jewish; Arab, Aramaic, Armenian, and Syriac; and Mediterranean, Semitic, Eastern, and Western.

The work underscores the uniqueness of the city’s society, particularly in its patterns of selection, preference, and rejection of inherited traditions. It illustrates how the city, with its deep-rooted heritage and artisanal legacy, has distinguished itself from dominant globalising trends, sometimes even in defiance of them, through cultural coexistence and conflict.

Demonstrating a critical awareness of his Orientalist background, the author takes an objective and self-reflective approach to move beyond stereotypical representations and do justice to the city of Aleppo and its rich heritage, consciously avoiding preconceived notions.

Jean-Claude David is a leading expert in urban geography and the cultural heritage of historic cities. His fascination with Aleppo began when he wrote his doctoral dissertation, "The Urban Landscape of Aleppo". He later worked with the city’s municipality, first as an intern and later as an expert, contributing to the development of its urban plan and the preservation of its historic quarters. David held research posts at the French Institute for Arab Studies in Damascus and devoted his academic career to the study of urban architecture in Syrian cities, as well as cities across the Middle East and North Africa.

He has authored a series of specialised books and studies on the heritage of Syria and the broader Middle East, most notably "Al-Shaalan" (2019), "Aleppo, Gateway to the Levant" (2003), and "The Waqf of Ibshir Pasha in Aleppo" (1982).

The book was translated into Arabic by Dr Hala Ahmad Aslan, a Syrian architectural researcher specialising in art history and the rehabilitation of cultural heritage. Dr Aslan holds a PhD from the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris and serves as a consultant on post-war rehabilitation projects for historic marketplaces in Syria. She has contributed to more than 60 academic research papers and has received several prestigious international awards, including the Tamayouz Excellence Award for Women in Architecture and Construction (2024) and the Khayr al-Din al-Asadi International Award (2022) for the Heritage of Aleppo. Among her notable translated works are "Reconstructing European Cities After Crises" and "The Ancient City of Aleppo: From Its Origins to the Middle Ages".