The Syrian Civil War in light of what I saw in Aleppo and Damascus

At the beginning of May 2008, for three days,  I was in Syria with a group of faculty members.

In this context, I would first like to reflect on how Syria was a hub for many tourist attractions before the civil war and what humanity has lost. 

THE CITY OF ALEPPO AND THE MAIN PLACES WE SAW

Aleppo, in Arabic and other  Semitic languages, is said to mean 'milk-giving.' It was among the most important cities of the Ottoman Empire. After Bursa and Istanbul, Aleppo was the most significant center for weaving. Its silk textiles and soaps were Aleppo's most important export goods.

One of the characteristics of Aleppo, a classic example of Ottoman urbanism, was the use of a type of stone called Kayshani  in its structures. The Aleppo Citadel, inns, baths, bazaars, mosques (including the Great Mosque of Aleppo), and madrasas were all built from this stone. Even today, the people of Aleppo continue to build their homes with stone cladding.

Aleppo is home to communities of many ethnic origins. The demographic structure of Aleppo consists primarily of Arabs and Turkmens; before the civil war, the population was  40 percent Turkmen. For this reason, during our trip, we saw that Turkish was dominant in Aleppo alongside Arabic, and we felt as if we were in a Turkish city.  We felt as if we were in a Turkish city.

Multi-religious and multi-lingual Aleppo was Syria's most important commercial city. The activity in trade and its cosmopolitan life brought vitality to all neighborhoods and streets. Aleppo, which also had the highest literacy rate (94 percent) compared to other Syrian cities, was a very clean and well-maintained city, quite different from other Arab countries in terms of healthcare.

As we learned later, many parts of the Al-Madina Souq (Aleppo Old City World Heritage site), including the destroyed Great Mosque of Aleppo and other medieval buildings in the ancient city, have been ruined.

THE CITY OF DAMASCUS AND THE MAIN PLACES WE SAW

The city, which suffered great damage in the civil war that began after our trip, is reportedly facing the possibility of losing its historical fabric.

DAMASCUS AL-HAMIDIYAH SOUQ

The Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, the largest and most central market in Syria located within the old city inside the citadel, was built in 1780 by Sultan Abdul Hamid I and later expanded by Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The Al-Hamidiyah Souq is one of the most exciting and vibrant shopping areas. As you wander through the streets of the market within the old city of Damascus, the movement created in the narrow and confined space under its dome is remarkable.

DAMASCUS SULEIMANIYE COMPLEX AND MOSQUE

The Damascus Suleimaniye Complex was built by Mimar Sinan during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent as part of the development of new construction activities in Damascus.

A madrasa was added later, and it functioned as a dervish lodge. The mosque is covered by a dome resting on pendentives. In front of it, there is a narthex covered by three arches and a small dome, surrounded on three sides by a portico resting on columns, featuring seven arches in the front and three on each side, all covered by a sloped roof.

DAMASCUS HOUSES

The primary purpose of the Damascus houses, many examples of which are still scattered throughout the old city,  was to create a worldly paradise  for their residents.

 The entrance to a wealthy home we saw in Damascus opens into a central courtyard with a fountain that masks outside noise and cools the air in the summer. Around the courtyard, green ivy can be seen climbing the walls, arches, and window frames. Depending on the owner's status, a house can have one, two, or even three courtyards. 

It is said that almost no Damascus house had a bathroom; the residents would go to the  local hammams, which were plentiful.

If the house was large, the rooms on the ground floor (the selamlik) were generally intended for hosting permanent guests, who were usually men. 

Every Damascus house has a garden. No Damascus house was considered complete without a garden. Damascus gardens were inspired by the descriptions of paradise in the Quran.

ON THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR AND ITS CAUSES

I had returned from Syria with fond memories and having experienced unique flavors. Six  years later, the country's transformation into a state of ruin and its fragmentation, due to both the internal uprising and external attacks,  It is impossible not to feel saddened. In this respect, I needed to examine the reasons for Syria reaching this state based on cause-and-effect relationships.

THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

The Syrian Civil War began as a conflict between the Syrian army and domestic insurgents, later involving the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Al-Nusra, and  various groups such as Kurds, Turkmens, Druze, and Assyrians, and in the recent period, it has seen the regular involvement of external powers such as Russia, Iran, the United States, Turkey, and Israel. The demonstrations began on March 15, 2011, and spread nationwide in April 2011.

CAUSES OF THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

Internal Factors

Among the internal factors are,

• The Syrian Ba'ath Party governing Syria as a single-party regime,

• Strict control over freedom of expression, assembly, and association in the country.  The travel bans imposed by the administration on dissidents,  the suppression of human rights defenders and other opponents, sentencing them to indefinite imprisonment,  subjecting them to torture, and killing them,

• All media outlets being under the control of the Ba'ath Party,  and the arrest and prosecution of dissident journalists,

• Despite the Assad family belonging to the Alawite minority, which makes up an estimated  12 percent of Syrian society, they exert pressure on the Sunni majority, which constitutes three-quarters of the country,

• The inability to be sufficiently successful in the nation-building process due to the large number of ethnicities in the country, and the discrimination faced by women and ethnic minorities in the public sector,

• Socio-economic  factors  such as extreme inequality in income distribution, and in this context, the poverty of the regions  mostly inhabited by religious Sunnis, and the fact that the state's economic policies  mostly benefit a small minority with close ties to the government, can be cited.

EXTERNAL FACTORS

To see and perceive the role of external factors in the Syrian Civil War, one must first take into account the Greater Middle East Project (GMEP). The GMEP is a project designed by Western imperial countries, led by the United States (USA), in line with their own interests.  It can be defined as a project to shape, control, or fragment various countries in the Middle East, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.  The project was initiated with preparatory work by the US administration for the 2004 G8 summit to change opportunities between the Middle East and the West, and was put into practice after George W. Bush was re-elected as US President. Although some sources indicate that the September 11 attacks in the US were the reason for the project's preparation, it would later become clearly evident that this was merely a distraction. However, some countries comically claimed that the Greater Middle East Project (GMEP) was also a struggle to bring freedom. As is known, the first implementation took place with the invasion of Iraq, and under the guise of 'bringing democracy,' it resulted in the deaths of millions of people and the looting of Iraq's historical treasures. 

In this context, the primary external factor of the Syrian civil war 

is the desire to ensure Israel's security  through the 'GMEP'.  It is necessary to recall the words of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: 'We pushed Syria into a civil war because Assad rejected our offer to be with us. Following this, all terrorist organizations in Syria were established against Assad.' Did he not say this?  In parallel with these, the following can be stated among the external factors:

The project, which aims to reshape the Middle East, has been a significant driver of regional instability.

• To redraw maps in the Middle East and aim to expand Israeli territory,

• The United States'  desire to establish a garrison state composed of the PKK/PYD/YPG in the geography east of the Euphrates in Syria. This state, which poses an existential threat to Turkey, is intended to be made a neighbor to Israel, which occupies the fertile lands in the southeast of Syria, in the future.  The garrison state will serve the interests of the US and Israel as well as the dreams of a 'Greater Kurdistan,' and will act as a gendarmerie force protecting Israel. 

• Along with the Greater Middle East Project (BOP), to transform the Middle East, including Syria, as well as Central Asia and North Africa, and to open these areas to global markets, 

• The desire to seize Syria's rich underground resources,  primarily oil, as well as its fertile lands watered by the Tigris and Euphrates,  is the goal.

• To intimidate Turkey, Iran, and other Arab countries by fragmenting Syria

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE COLLAPSE OF SYRIA

• “To become an independent community crowned with democracy, one must first become a nation. No society that has not moved past the nation-building stage  can be independent and democratic. 

• Being independent and democratic  can only be achieved through national sovereignty, democratization, secularism, and the guidance of reason and science.  • Instead of nation-building, relying on religious and sectarian ties, tribalism, community culture, and various organizations based on religion and sect

• Instead of nation-building, relying on religious and sectarian ties, tribalism, community culture, and various organizations based on religion and sect  to be independent and democratic  is not possible. 

• Imperialism's 'divide, conquer, and rule'  method does not fundamentally change. If necessary, imperialism brings groups it previously considered terrorists into channels under its own control. Organizations it called black yesterday are called white today. 

• Against neoliberal policies, which are nothing more than the control and seizure of the value-added produced by third-world countries, carried out through the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization,  it is necessary to prioritize statism based on public interest, I believe.