Agatha Christie hotel taken over by Syrian military

The long-standing Baron Hotel in Aleppo, famous for once hosting luminaries such as TE Lawrence, Agatha Christie and Charles de Gaulle has been turned into a military barracks.

Soldiers loyal to Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad have been using the hotel where Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express to rest and stash weapons.Until yesterday, the Aleppo property was still listed on hotel booking sites as offering rooms with 'crisp sheets and plush duvets', and a 'full-service restaurant'. Read more: telegraph.co.uk