You are here: Homepage Tag Nahe Osten Articles Black market | Syria Dubious business Prostitution, drugs and illegal money dealing: Syria's black market is flourishing in the wake of Assad's fall. A lack of regulations and clarity is deterring new investment in the formal economy By Ahmed Mohamed 08/24/2025 People in a club in Damascus. For many of those present, nightlife is also an emotional refuge from the traumas of the years-long Syrian civil war. Photo: Hasan Ibrahim Belal Nightlife | Syria Born into chaos Syrians are rediscovering nightlife and partying in the underground music scene is like being reborn. A stroll through Damascus at night By Danny Makki 08/20/2025 In his documentaries, Syrian director Feras Fayyad shows how his compatriots tried to defy the relentless terror of the Assad regime Photo: Stine Heilmann Crimes against humanity | Syria “They drank coffee, smoked - and tortured us” Under the Assad regime, tens of thousands of Syrians were tortured, some for years on end. Can a society ever overcome such trauma? A conversation with filmmaker Feras Fayyad Interview with Feras Fayyad 08/05/2025 Syrian author and dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh in exile in Berlin Photo: Urban Zintel History | Syria A history of violence For the first time in eleven years, Yassin al-Haj Saleh returned to his homeland. The Syrian writer and dissident found a country torn apart by internal conflicts and beset by worries about the return of tyranny. A historical analysis By Yassin al-Haj Saleh 08/05/2025
Black market | Syria Dubious business Prostitution, drugs and illegal money dealing: Syria's black market is flourishing in the wake of Assad's fall. A lack of regulations and clarity is deterring new investment in the formal economy By Ahmed Mohamed 08/24/2025
People in a club in Damascus. For many of those present, nightlife is also an emotional refuge from the traumas of the years-long Syrian civil war. Photo: Hasan Ibrahim Belal Nightlife | Syria Born into chaos Syrians are rediscovering nightlife and partying in the underground music scene is like being reborn. A stroll through Damascus at night By Danny Makki 08/20/2025
In his documentaries, Syrian director Feras Fayyad shows how his compatriots tried to defy the relentless terror of the Assad regime Photo: Stine Heilmann Crimes against humanity | Syria “They drank coffee, smoked - and tortured us” Under the Assad regime, tens of thousands of Syrians were tortured, some for years on end. Can a society ever overcome such trauma? A conversation with filmmaker Feras Fayyad Interview with Feras Fayyad 08/05/2025
Syrian author and dissident Yassin al-Haj Saleh in exile in Berlin Photo: Urban Zintel History | Syria A history of violence For the first time in eleven years, Yassin al-Haj Saleh returned to his homeland. The Syrian writer and dissident found a country torn apart by internal conflicts and beset by worries about the return of tyranny. A historical analysis By Yassin al-Haj Saleh 08/05/2025
