However , the imam of the temple minaret wang guan snow is said with a smile , rabat had made a small mistake : " he can not be considered a pioneer , before the 1300 arab businessmen have come here to do business and missionary work . "
You could have heard the minaret falling miles away in aleppo 's city center , where , against a backdrop of gunfire and the whump of mortars , residents maintain an improbable veneer of normalcy .