Khaldoun Fansa is an Aleppo native who was displaced by the Syrian Civil War. For many years he worked as an architect who managed restoration of Aleppo's Old City for private owners as well acting as a consultant for the Aga Khan Trust. Visit the Old City of Aleppo is Fansa's effort to keep Syrian culture alive in a difficult time and to prepare for the day when the cannons are silent and women and men of good will can begin to rebuild their city and their lives. Visit the Old City of Aleppo is a book for children as well as a book for adults who may choose to read aloud to a child. The narrative follows young Tamim and his father on their explorations of the Old City, pre civil war. Accent pages provide insights from 5,000 years of culture and history reflected in the houses, covered markets, and narrow alleyways. Aleppo was a major trading center built of Roman stone that continued to flourish in the time of Marco Polo and later served as the favored British trading route to India. Aleppo's Old city is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

This book focuses on the management and conservation of architectural heritage with the aim of increasing awareness about the value of such conservation and of saving what is left of history, which in turn rewards societies by supporting the tourism industry, generating economic return, and preserving communities’ identities. Since it has become an essential need to manage and conserve the architectural heritage in order to protect the identity and heritage of a city, there appeared a gap between the theory and its application. Therefore, a considerable amount of attention has been directed by experts in this field toward emphasizing the contribution of heritage conservation in order to inspire the development of imaginative, useful high-quality design.