In Aleppo, even life’s most basic tasks, like buying bread, often turn deadly. Syria’s most populous city has been consumed by civil war, and as rebel and government forces wage constant battle, civilians engage in a daily struggle to go about their lives. In these images, photojournalist Yusuf Sayman opens a window into the precarious existence of Aleppo’s residents, as trash piles high and children play amid the ruins of what was once Syria’s vibrant and bustling commercial capital.
Left, Children play soccer in a street market.
Yusuf Sayman
A child carries bread through a market.
Yusuf Sayman
In a market frequented by Aleppo's poor, residents trade used and discarded material.
Yusuf Sayman
Goods for sale in an Aleppo market.
Yusuf Sayman
With trash collection halted, waste now lines Aleppo's streets.
Yusuf Sayman
A street vendor selling coffee.
Yusuf Sayman
This street near the offices of Liwa al-Tawhid, one of Aleppo’s most formidable rebel groups, houses a newly founded Sharia court—along with the headquarters of Jabhat al-Nusra, the jihadi group aligned with al Qaeda.
Yusuf Sayman
A vendor advertizes watches at a market.
Yusuf Sayman
A street vendor cleans his hookah.
Yusuf Sayman
This deserted street in the Karm al-Jabal neighborhood is menaced by snipers and often targeted with airstrikes and artillery.
Yusuf Sayman
A residential apartment building damaged by tank fire.
Yusuf Sayman
Aleppo's al-Shaar district has been badly battered by the war.
Yusuf Sayman
Vendors selling gas. With Aleppo's gas stations out of operation, a liter of gas, which went for just eight Syrian pounds before the revolution, now goes for 165.
Yusuf Sayman
Children play in a destroyed buliding.
Yusuf Sayman
A checkpoint on one of Aleppo's main highways.
Yusuf Sayman
Bullet holes dot a city wall.
Yusuf Sayman
