The Uncovering Roots podcast is back for a new season with stories from Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, Palestine, and beyond.
This follows the success of The Lost Voice: Aurora Mardiganian miniseries – an exploration of an Armenian Genocide survivor turned Hollywood star.
The first episode of the new series, titled “The Baron Hotel,” is an audio portrait of one of Syria’s most iconic and storied buildings.
Co-produced by Maxim Saakyan and Syrian Armenian researcher Zila Demirjian, The Baron Hotel tells the story of Aleppo’s once-legendary hotel. A space that hosted kings, revolutionaries, archaeologists, and refugees, and which now stands damaged and deserted after more than a century of history.
At the centre of the story is Mary Momdjian, granddaughter of the hotel’s original founder, whose voice carries listeners through intimate family memories, wartime upheavals, and the slow disappearance of a world.
Her reflections, paired with original sound design, archival recordings, and field interviews with Aleppo-based historians and filmmakers, paint a layered portrait of a building that witnessed, and at times sheltered, so much.
“The Baron has been a witness to so many turning points in history,” says Zila. “When spaces like this disappear, it’s not just history we lose. It’s belonging, continuity and culture.”
Episode One: The Baron Hotel is available now on Apple and Spotify.
