Скачать или смотреть Markets in Damascus open as life rapidly recovers after rebel takeover

(11 Dec 2024)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4539919

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Damascus, Syria - 11 December 2024
1. Wide of Bzouriyeh market
2. Spices and grains shops at market
3. People at market
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bakri Bakdash, trader:
"You can see that people smiles differently now (than during Assad’s rule). Thank God, Damascus and Syria as a whole have returned to what they used to be."
5. Umayyad Mosque
6. Opposition fighters posing in front of the mosque
7. Amjad taking selfie in front of mosque
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amjad (no last name given), opposition fighter:
"It has been 15 years since we were last able to enter the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, our capital, because of the unjust former regime. Our joy cannot be expressed."
9. Woman holding Free Syrian Army flag
STORYLINE:
Life slowly began returning to normalcy in Damascus on Wednesday, with some shops reopening and people strolling through markets.

At Bzouriyeh market, one of the famous spice and grain souks in the Syrian capital, shop owners and shoppers mingled among the colorful, old spice shops.

"You can see that people' smile differently now. Thank God, Damascus and Syria as a whole have returned to what they used to be," said Bakri Bakdash, a spice trader who has worked in Bzouriyeh market for 45 years.

Banks and government institutions had also reopened. In public squares, some people were still celebrating.

Many were seen inside the Umayyad Mosque in downtown Damascus, particularly those from northern Syria, which was previously under opposition control. Many had been unable to visit the mosque for years.

Meanwhile, thousands of displaced Syrians were returning home from neighboring countries, as Syria's head of transitional cabinet Mohammed Al-Bashir called on those abroad to return.

The Syrian government of President Bashar Assad fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days.

AP Video shot by Abdulrahman Shaheen

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