ALEP PO, a t. in the n. of Syria, capital of a Turkish vilayet of the same name, between the Orontes and the Euphrates, on the banks of the little desert stream, Nahr-el Haleb. It stands in a large hollow, surrounded by rocky hills of limestone. The fruitful gardens, celebrated for their excellent plantations of pistachios, are the sole con trast to the desolation which environs the city, whose numberless cupolas and minarets, 'clean, well-paved streets, and stately houses, make it even yet one of the most beautiful in the east. It is a telegraph station in connection with Damascus, and with Diarbekir, on the Indo-European line, and contains (Almon. de Gotha, 1879) 70,000 inhabitants. Formerly, it supplied a great part of the east with fabrics of silk, cotton, and wool, and gold and silver stuffs; but in 1822 an earthquake Swallowed up two thirds of the inhabitants, and transformed the citadel into a heap of ruins. The plague of 1827, the
cholera of 1832, and the oppression of the Egyptian government, all hut completed its destruction. During the sway of the last, however, a new citadel and some other edifices were erected ; but scarcely half of the mosques and baths have been rebuilt. The aqueduct is the oldest monument of the town. A. is one of the principal emporiums of the inland commerce of Asia. Its port is Alexandretta or Iskanderoon (q.v.). A. has a large trade in cotton and silk goods, skins, tobacco, wine, oil, etc. The value of the imports of Alexandretta in 1874 was £1,345,000 ; of the exports„-C.:880,000. It was once the centre of Saracenic power, still retains much of the Arabic character, and its citizens are famed throughout the east for their elegant manners.