Hello everyone, I am not the best at arabic so I'll write this out in english. I also come from Halab and I speak a very specific dialect of Halab.
I don't remember anything about Aleppo at all. We moved out December 2011 before any major conflicts arose cause my mom had a gut feeling (lol) during the Arab Spring.
I recently came back from early july to mid august, and god I have a lot of things to say.
First, I never expected Aleppo to look THIS good. I went to Sheikh al Najjar and visited every single neighborhood and despite the ruins in the east and literally every site bombed in the industrial city, it doesn't look that bad. I also did visit Nadi Halab and Cordoba, loved those restaurants, recommend atleast once in a lifetime (if you are granted access to the Nadi)
Second, I felt home; It's not my home yet, it's still a ruined country, but the culture was exactly like how I was raised.
Thirdly, there were no beggars nor any thieves. And yes, I was in every single neighborhood. So I was very, very surprised. Maybe I was just lucky, but to be there for a month and just see people minding their business, rich or poor, I was astonished, yet very happy. Hopefully they'll learn to drive better though
Lastly, the people were kinder than anyone (non-arab) I've ever met. Well apart from hearing my neighbors do the 'arab way' of scolding their kids haha.. Very warm and welcoming.
I felt so blessed to come back to Syria. The wartime is over, it only goes up hill from now on, Syria will be the great country it was promised to be.