Christmas in Damascus is different this year, after al-Assad’s fall
Al Jazeera
The ancient Old City comes alive with lights, music and joy, Syrians talk about their their hopes now al-Assad is gone.
Damascus, Syria – There’s something different about Christmas this year, Damascenes say.
Although the decorations may have been more elaborate last year, Carol al-Sahhaf says this year’s festive mood is a cut above, less than two weeks after Bashar al-Assad fled and his regime crumbled.
On either side of the biblical Street Called Straight – or al-Mustaqeem or just Straight Street for short – lights and Christmas trees adorn the cafes, restaurants, shops and homes of Bab Sharqi, the neighbourhood nestled up to the Eastern Gate of the ancient Old City.
The alleyways around Straight Street are bustling, with a spring-like feeling in the air as shopkeepers repaint, dust off their shelves, and hang the green, white and black Free Syria flag.
Al-Assad fled on December 8, and the country erupted into jubilation that lasted for days as Syrians celebrated the fall of the al-Assad family and the end of more than 50 years of brutal rule.
