The Aga Khan inaugurates the Aleppo Citadel Project with Prime Minister, Muhammad Naji Al-Otri and the Governor of Aleppo, Dr Tamer Hejjeh. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

The Aga Khan walks through Aleppo's citadel after the ceremony, accompanied by Prime Minister, Muhammad Naji Al-Otri and Mr Seifo, AKDN Syria's Resident Representative. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

Mr Luis Monreal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), signs an agreement for the development of an urban park in Aleppo with Syria's Minister of Tourism, Sadallah Agha Al-Qala. The 17-hectare park, which is expected to generate income and be self sustainable, will be built on waste ground owned by Aleppo Municipality, and will create a vast new public green space in the city. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

His Highness the Aga Khan walks through the Bab Qinnesrine, selected for the development of Aleppo's urban park. The project draws on the AKTC's experience in Cairo, Egypt, where it created a hugely successful urban park on the site of a former rubble dump. Much like Cairo’s Al-Azhar Park, the Aleppo project is designed not only to provide green space for Aleppo residents but also to stimulate economic activity and improve the overall quality of life in adjacent neighbourhoods. He is accompanied by Prime Minister, Muhammad Naji Al-Otri and the Governor of Aleppo, Dr Tamer Hejjeh. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte

Mr Mahmud Janmohamed, Managing Director of Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development's (AKFED) Tourism Promotion Services, signs an agreement with the Governor of Aleppo, Dr Tamer Hejjeh, to restore and Aleppo’s historic Government House, known as The New Serai, and convert it into a five-star hotel. The agreement follows an agreement signed earlier in the week to develop a five-star hotel in Old Damascus through the preservation and restoration of three old houses, namely Beit Nizam, Beit Sibai and Beit Kuwatli, as well as an adjacent school. Both projects are linked to the creation of culturally sensitive tourism infrastructure - a hallmark of AKFED tourism projects - for Syria. - Photo: AKDN/Gary Otte