The second largest city of Syria, after Damascus, called Haleb in Arabic, has been a collecting point for the exquisite Kurdish Kilims of Syria which are woven both in the Northeastern and Northwestern regions of the country. Many of these kilims are pieced, double & triple, even quadruple and quintuple. Some of them were used as hangings or interior curtains used to create separate rooms within a house, such as the beautiful Wedding Kilim. Repeating figures such as diamonds, hourglass figures, flowers, combs and earrings abound and the handspun wool fiber is often dyed with cochineal and pomegranate skins.
Aleppo is also home to a significant population of Armenians, some of whom arrived in Syria in the diaspora of the early 20th century, others who had migrated to the region during the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century or earlier. The Armenian carpets of Aleppo are extremely unusual and often very fine. While utilizing Armenian designs these skilled carpet weavers incorporated motifs found in Persian carpets and also other Caucasian designs in pieces of extreme durability and beautifully harmonious, unusual color combinations.
