Aleppo's Cultural Center Under Attack in Syria's Civil War

WORLD -- October 25, 2012 at 2:30 PM EDT

Aleppo's Cultural Center Under Attack in Syria's Civil War

The ancient marketplace, or "souk", in Aleppo, Syria, is a labyrinth of cobbled streets and stalls that, until recently, showcased glistening gold work and glass. The violence of the civil war between government forces and rebels has brought destruction and desolation to the once vibrant place.

Our slide show shows what the marketplace was like before and after fighting between the rebels and government forces climaxed in late September as both sides struggled to control the city.

Related Resources:

Former CIA analysts Philip Mudd and Paul Pillar discuss on the NewsHour whether the United States should aid rebels to help push out Syrian President Bashar al-Assad:

Remembering Syria's historic Silk Road souk in Aleppo -- from the Guardian
Unverified amateur video of the Aleppo souk burning last month -- from the BBC

View more of our World and Syria coverage.

Follow @NewsHourWorld

Beginning October 24, 2012, PBS NewsHour will allow open commenting for all registered users. We hope that the elimination of our moderation process will enable a more organic discussion amongst you, our audience. However, if a commenter violates our terms of use or abuses the commenting forum, their comment will be removed. We reserve the right to remove posts that do not follow these basic guidelines: comments must be relevant to the topic of the post; may not include profanity, personal attacks or hate speech; may not promote a business or raise money; may not be spam. Anything you post should be your own work. The PBS NewsHour reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its website or in any medium now known or unknown the comments or emails that we receive. By submitting comments, you agree to the PBS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which include more details.