For the first time in five years, Aleppo finally welcomes tourists once more.

Over three hundred children, students, and pensioners from all over Syria were invited to observe the Umayyad mosque, the Citadel, and the amphitheater in one of the world’s most ancient cities.

Sputnik reports:

“On the way to the old part of the city, food joints and souvenir shops have opened for business. Currently the applications for excursions are arriving via domestic tourism,” travel agency owner Samer Al-Shayah said. He recalled that before the war there were more than seven million tourists visiting Aleppo annually.

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Though the architecture of the city has been severly damaged by war in the fight against terrorists, the city is still a beautiful and shining piece of world history:

The artifacts of the Aleppo Citadel, mentioned in the X century AD, remained in the city due to the fact that its modern garrison managed to resist numerous attacks by the militants.

Other wonderful changes in the city include the reigniting of commerce and trade:

A few days ago it was reported that more than 15,000 out of 60,000 small businesses, which had operated in the Syrian province of Aleppo before the outbreak of hostilities, have now resumed work, Chairman of the Federation of the Syrian Chamber of Industry Fares Shahabi said Monday.