Aleppo Governorate

The governorate has a 221-kilometre (137 mi) long northern boundary with the Kilis, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa provinces of Turkey. To the east lies Raqqa Governorate, to the south Ḥamā Governorate, and to the west Idlib Governorate and Turkey's Hatay Province.

The governorate lies on a plateau known as the Aleppo plateau. The eastern and northern boundaries of the governorate correspond roughly to the eastern and northern boundaries of the plateau, although the northeastern portion of the governorate crosses the Euphrates valley into the Jazīrah plateau. The southeastern end of the governorate is continuous with the arid steppe of the northern Syrian Desert. To the south lie the eastern plains of Hama, and to the southwest lie the northern plains of Idlib.

The average elevation of the terrain is 379 metres (1,243 ft). The surface gradually slopes down in north-south and west-east directions, undulating gently with an amplitude of 10–30 m for each wave. The lowlands are covered with combined Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments that average 4–5 km in thickness over the whole surface.[12]

Geographic features of northwestern Syria

Starting from the valley of the Euphrates, the terrain rises forming the Manbij plain, and then sinks again at the Dhahab river valley in the east of Aleppo Governorate. The Dhahab drains the highlands north of Bāb and runs in a north-south direction for about 50 km (31 mi) until it drains into Lake Jabboul. West of the Dhahab valley the terrain rises again forming Mount ʻAqīl (Mount Taymar) west of Bāb and Mount Ḥaṣṣ west of Lake Jabboul.[13] The terrain sinks again forming the valley of River Quwēq. The endpoint of Quwēq, the Maṭkh swamp (249 metres (817 ft)), is the lowest point in Aleppo Governorate. West of the Quwēq is Mount Simeon. South of Mount Simeon is the plains of Idlib. The River ʻAfrīn runs west of Mount Simeon. To the west of River ʻAfrīn the land rises again forming Mount Kurd. The highest point in the governorate, Mount Bulbul (1,269 metres (4,163 ft)), is located in the northern part of Mount Kurd. River ʻIfrīn runs from north to south between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd and then turns west to the Orontes valley, thus separating Mount Kurd from Mount Ḥārim to the south.

The governorate is generally deforested except for a dispersed forest of about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) on the eastern slope of Mount Kurd where it faces the plain of Aʻzāz. The main trees are Aleppo Pine and oak.

Arable land makes up 66% of the total area in the governorate. The main crops are olives, figs, plums, pomegranates, vegetables, grains, rice, and pistachios. Pistachio is called in Syria fustuq Ḥalabī (Aleppo pistachio). Rivers traditionally supported agriculture; the main rivers in Aleppo are the Quwēq, ʻIfrīn, Sājūr, Dhahab, Aswad, and Euphrates. However, all of these rivers arise in Turkey, and due to irrigation projects on the Turkish side of the border, the flow of these rivers dropped so much that most of them could no longer support agriculture. The Quwēq, for example, dried up completely in the 1950s. The vanishing of the rivers forced farmers to depend largely on rainfall and on water diverted from the Euphrates. A pumping station at Maskanah (95 km east of Aleppo) provides drinking water for Aleppo from the Euphrates. Recently Euphrates water has been diverted to revive the dead Qwēq river, and thus revive agriculture in the plains south of Aleppo. Urban areas, highlands, swamps, forests, and grazing land make up 34% of the total area of the governorate. The remaining 14% is a desert area in the southeast that is continuous with the Syrian Desert and known as the Aleppo Desert (Arabic: بادية حلب).

The largest lake in the governorate is Lake Jabboul, a Ramsar salt lake located 40 kilometres (25 mi) southeast of Aleppo. Lake Assad (the largest lake in Syria) separates Aleppo Governorate from Raqqa Governorate. Other artificial lakes include the Lake of 17 April on the River ʻIfrīn and the revived Shabāʼ Lake on River Quwēq.

Archaeological sites are abundant in the governorate, especially at Mount Simeon in the west and the plains that extend beyond towards Antioch and Idlib. This region, known as the Limestone Massif, has the largest concentration of Late Antiquity churches in the world, with a unique Syrian architectural style.[14] It also has the famous Dead Cities of Syria.[15]

Cities

Aleppo city hall, the seat of the governorate and the city council

The following cities are the administrative centres of the districts in Aleppo Governorate (Population based on 2004 official census):

City	Population
Aleppo	2,132,100[16]
Manbij	99,497[17]
As Safirah	63,708[18]
Al-Bab	63,069[19]
Ayn Al-Arab	44,821[20]
Afrin	36,562[21]
A'zaz	31,623[22]
Dayr Hafir	18,948[23]
Jarabulus	11,570[24]
Atarib	10,657[25]

Districts

Aleppo

Jabal
Sem‘ān‎

Ayn al-Arab

Atarib

Afrin

Al-Bab

Dayr
Ḥafir

As-Safira

Azaz

Jarabulus

Manbij

The governorate is divided into ten districts (manatiq) as of 2011. The districts are further divided into 46 sub-districts (nawahi):

Mount Simeon District (7 sub-districts)* Mount Simeon Subdistrict Tell ad-Daman Subdistrict Haritan Subdistrict Darat Izza Subdistrict al-Zirbah Subdistrict Zammar Subdistrict Hadher Subdistrict Afrin District (7 sub-districts) Afrin Subdistrict Bulbul Subdistrict Jindires Subdistrict Rajo Subdistrict Sharran Subdistrict Shaykh al-Hadid Subdistrict Maabatli Subdistrict Atarib District (3 sub-districts)** Atarib Subdistrict Ibbin Samaan Subdistrict Urum al-Kubrah Subdistrict Ayn al-Arab District (4 sub-districts) Ayn al-Arab Subdistrict Shuyukh Tahtani Subdistrict Sarrin Subdistrict Al-Jalabiyah Subdistrict

Azaz District (6 sub-districts) Azaz Subdistrict Akhtarin Subdistrict Tell Rifaat Subdistrict Mare' Subdistrict Nubl Subdistrict Sawran Subdistrict Al-Bab District (4 sub-districts) al-Bab Subdistrict Tadef Subdistrict al-Rai Subdistrict Arima Subdistrict Dayr Hafir District (3 sub-districts)*** Dayr Hafir Subdistrict Rasm Harmil al-Imam Subdistrict Kuweires Sharqi Subdistrict Jarabulus District (2 sub-districts) Jarabulus Subdistrict Ghandoura Subdistrict Manbij District (5 sub-districts) Manbij Subdistrict Abu Kahf Subdistrict Abu Qilqil Subdistrict al-Khafsah Subdistrict Maskanah Subdistrict Safirah District (5 sub-districts) as-Safira Subdistrict Tell Aran Subdistrict Khanasir Subdistrict Banan Subdistrict al-Hajib Subdistrict

^* - includes Aleppo City
^** - a newly-created district since 2008, formerly belonging to Mount Simeon District
^*** - a newly-created district since 2009, formerly belonging to Al-Bab District

Aleppo Governorate has a semi-arid climate. The mountain series that runs along the Mediterranean coast, namely Mount Alawites and Mount Amanus, largely block the effects of the Mediterranean on climate (rain shadow effect). The average temperature in the governorate is 15–20 °C (59–68 °F). The average precipitation ranges from 500 mm (20 in) in the western parts of the governorate to 200 mm (8 in) in the easternmost parts and 150 mm (6 in) in the southeastern desert. 80% of precipitation occurs between October and March. Snow is usually in winter. The average humidity is 60% in the west and 55% in the east.

Agricultural output from Aleppo mainly focuses on cereal and cotton production. However, since the Syrian Civil War, many Aleppo based commerce have now relocated across the border into Turkey, especially Gaziantep.[29] Economic conditions have deteriorated in the Aleppo region and have caused prices of goods to rise. The war in Ukraine and reductions in the Euphrates' river water levels are expected to cause a major impact on water and electricity access as well as food security within the region.[30]

As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 4,045,200.[3] A 2011 UNOCHA estimate put the population at 4,867,900, though this has likely changed since the start of the war.[31]