Aleppo's industrial fairgrounds were busy again last week for the first time in years, as more than 300 companies from around 20 countries gathered for the Nas Tex 2026 exhibition, a four-day event that Syrian officials are billing as the opening move to revive the country's once-formidable textile industry.
For decades, Aleppo and Damascus were synonymous with fine fabric. The mills of northern Syria produced garments that reached Arab and European markets, and Damascus textiles carried enough prestige to be used at royal occasions, among them the wedding gown of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
Syrian exports were built on a combination of high-quality cotton, skilled labour and competitive pricing, which made the country a genuine force in regional manufacturing.
The civil war that broke out in 2011 dismantled that in a matter of years. Factories were damaged or destroyed. Investors and skilled workers left for Turkey and Egypt, taking accumulated know-how with them.
Syrian industrialists and officials have alleged that equipment from factories in northern Syria was transferred to Turkey during the conflict, allegations Ankara has consistently denied.
