Life returns to normal in Damascus

(7 Oct 2018) LEADIN:
Damascus residents are saying that life is returning to normal in the Syrian capital.
Business owners are optimistic that a government retake of opposition strongholds will help stabilise the financial situation in the country.
STORYLINE:
Bashar Al-Binni is showing off his grey parrot.
He can now finally let the parrot outside, to sing and whistle at people who pass by his video game shop.
Less than a year ago, his neighbourhood near Eastern Gate, an entrance to the Old City of Damascus, was bombarded with artillery shells.
But Al-Binni says life is slowly returning back to normal.
"Now one can actually think about how to improve oneself, you can build and create as you did before. At the start of the crisis it was not like that, one was only thinking about how to stay alive. But it's gotten much better now, God willing," he says.
Business is doing well, he adds, as more people are looking for entertainment.
Once an obligatory stop for international tourists to the country, with some roads and structures in the area dating back thousands of years to Greek, Roman, and medieval times, now most of the visitors to the neighbourhood are Syrian, enjoying an evening out on the town.
Many of the older stately homes have been remodelled as hotels, cafes and bars.  
The optimism felt by many Damascus residents is being fed by a feeling that President Bashar Assad, with unwavering support from allies Russia and Iran, has won, or at least has defeated those opposition fighters trying to topple him.
Many say that the war is not quite over, but they're hopeful it will be soon.
Syrian officials say that with the government's military gains over the past year, it's now time to focus on rebuilding.
A convention in the capital last week hosted businesses from 29 countries with a focus on construction, technology and industries.
The government now holds the majority of Syria's territory, with the north largely controlled by US-backed and Kurdish-led forces, opposition fighters allied with Turkey, and insurgent groups.
Palestinian refugee Mohammed Qordani owns a takeway pizza shop in Damascus.
He says people feel safer now, more at ease walking around and staying out late, which is good news for his business.
"After Eastern Ghouta was liberated, things are like they were before, and they're getting better. As for the economic situation, it's getting better, and everyone goes out in the streets, because it's safe to go out in the streets now," Qordani says.  
Eastern Ghouta is a string of towns and villages east of Damascus that were held by rebels and under siege by government forces for five years.
The government retook them this spring and summer.
Radwan Rizqa, an antique shop owner, plays backgammon with a friend on a pavement near his shop.
He says some people stopped buying furniture during the early years of the conflict, but now business is working as usual.
He thinks he couldn't get the quality of life he has in Syria anywhere else.
"I have a residency and a shop in Germany, and all my family there. But I'm staying here, I'm happy here," he says.
At the Umayyad Mosque inside the old city, evening prayers continue as they have for centuries, and outside, crowds fill the surrounding marketplaces' alleys.

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