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Asharq Al-Awsat Tours Homs, the ‘Capital’ of Syria’s Revolution, to Witness its Revival

People are seen in the historic market in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People are seen in the historic market in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Asharq Al-Awsat Tours Homs, the ‘Capital’ of Syria’s Revolution, to Witness its Revival

People are seen in the historic market in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
People are seen in the historic market in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

In the heart of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, the new Clock Square, nestled between the governorate building, the Teachers' Syndicate, and the Atassi Tower, reflects a slow yet noticeable return to life. The bustling markets, the flow of pedestrians and the modern vehicles all paint a picture of gradual recovery in the region.

However, just a few meters away, stark contrasts and remnants of war are visible in the neighborhoods of Khalidiya, Jouret al-Shiah, Baba Amr, Deir Ballaba and Al-Bayyadah.

Some of these areas were once the epicenter of peaceful protests, filled with music and dance, before the ousted regime’s security crackdown turned into all-out war.

In areas like Al-Wa’ar, from which the last batch of fighters withdrew, the price paid by the opposition to topple ousted President Bashar al-Assad is still etched in the city’s landscape.

At the crossroads of Al-Hamidiyah, Homs’ historic markets, the sounds of street vendors, the hustle of pedestrians and the blaring horns of cars and motorcycles fill the air amid heavy traffic. Trucks and vehicles are seen moving in and out of the gates of Old Homs, signaling the city’s recovery and return to the spotlight after years of war.

Eyad Abdullah, originally from Baba Amr, has just returned from 13 years of exile in Türkiye.

Members of the military operations command are seen at the new Clock Square in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Strolling with his wife and children near the Clock Square, he spoke with joy to Asharq Al-Awsat: “I have three children - two sons and a daughter, who is 12 years old. They were all born outside Syria in refugee camps. Today, we are walking near the Clock Square, and we’re about to visit the old market.”

“It was all a dream, and now it’s come true,” Abdullah explained.

Sectarian tensions

Eng. Mihyar Khaddour, another individual Asharq Al-Awsat stopped to speak with, shared his concerns about the sectarian tensions left by the Baath regime.

Homs, a major hub of the revolution against Assad, was one of the cities where the regime used overwhelming force to silence opposition voices.

Khaddour emphasized: “If Homs remains trapped in sectarian divisions, we will not know peace. But if its people manage to restore it to its former state as a symbol of coexistence and diversity, it will be the greatest victory the people could achieve.”

Damaged buildings are seen in the Khalidiya neighborhood in Homs. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Over 60% destroyed

Homs is one of the most devastated cities due to the shelling by forces loyal to Assad. In neighborhoods like Khalidiya, Deir Ballaba, Al-Bayyadah and Jouret al-Shiah, the destruction has surpassed 60%.

The city ranks third in terms of damage from military operations, following Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta near Damascus respectively.

The devastation is evident in the heavily damaged buildings, many of which have not seen their residents return, with only a few returning more than two months after the fall of the regime.

The return of stability to Homs has opened a new chapter for local shop owners and artisans, allowing them to resume businesses passed down through generations.

Abdel Bastet Al-Frawati, who owns a shop in the historic Arab fur market, shared that many business owners and tradespeople returned after the fall of the regime.

“We went through difficult days and months, with little work and challenges in purchasing leather from abroad or shipping it from Damascus,” he said.

“But today, the markets are once again connected, and traders can buy and sell across Syria and neighboring areas,” he explained.

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This Ramadan, Relief and Hope Bump against Uncertainty in the New Syria

Residents walk in the market on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday March 1, 2025.(AP)
Residents walk in the market on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday March 1, 2025.(AP)
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This Ramadan, Relief and Hope Bump against Uncertainty in the New Syria

Residents walk in the market on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday March 1, 2025.(AP)
Residents walk in the market on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday March 1, 2025.(AP)

Sahar Diab had visited Damascus’ famed Umayyad Mosque previously. But as the Syrian lawyer went there to pray during her country’s first Ramadan after the end of the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule, she felt something new, something priceless: A sense of ease.

“The rituals have become much more beautiful,” she said. “Before, we were restricted in what we could say. ... Now, there’s freedom.”

As Diab spoke recently, however, details were trickling in from outside Damascus about deadly clashes. The bloodshed took on sectarian overtones and devolved into the worst violence since former President Bashar Assad was overthrown in December by armed insurgents led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

This Ramadan — the Muslim holy month of daily fasting and heightened worship — such are the realities of a Syria undergoing complex transition. Relief, hope and joy at new openings — after 53 years of the Assad dynasty’s reign, prolonged civil war and crushing economic woes — intermingle with uncertainty, fear by some, and a particularly bloody and worrisome wave of violence.

Some are feeling empowered, others vulnerable.

“We’re not afraid of anything,” Diab said. She wants her country to be rebuilt and to get rid of Assad-era “corruption and bribery.”

At the Umayyad Mosque, the rituals were age-old: A woman fingering a prayer bead and kissing a copy of the Quran; the faithful standing shoulder-to-shoulder and prostrating in prayer; the Umayyad’s iconic and unusual group call to prayer, recited by several people.

Muslim worshippers pray during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, Friday March 7, 2025. (AP)

The sermon, by contrast, was fiery in delivery and new in message.

The speaker, often interrupted by loud chants of “God is great,” railed against Assad and hailed the uprising against him.

“Our revolution is not a sectarian revolution even though we’d been slaughtered by the sword of sectarianism,” he said.

This Ramadan, Syrians marked the 14th anniversary of the start of their country’s civil war. The conflict began as a peaceful revolt against the regime, before Assad crushed the protests and a civil war erupted.

It became increasingly fought along sectarian lines, drawing in foreign powers and fighters. Assad, who had ruled over a majority Sunni population, belongs to the minority Alawite sect and had drawn from Alawite ranks for military and security positions, fueling resentment. That, Alawites say now, shouldn’t mean collective blame for his actions.

Many Syrians speak of omnipresent fear under Assad, often citing the Arabic saying, “the walls have ears,” reflecting that speaking up even privately didn’t feel safe. They talk of hardships, injustices and brutality. Now, for example, many celebrate freedom from dreaded Assad-era checkpoints.

“They would harass us,” said Ahmed Saad Aldeen, who came to the Umayyad Mosque from the city of Homs. “You go out ... and you don’t know whether you’ll return home or not.”

He said more than a dozen cousins are missing; a search for them in prisons proved futile.

Mohammed Qudmani said even going to the mosque caused anxiety for some before, for fear of getting on security forces’ radar screen or being labeled a “terrorist.”

Now, Damascus streets are bedecked with the new three-starred flag, not long ago a symbol of Assad's opponents. It flutters from poles and is plastered to walls, sometimes with the words “God is great” handwritten on it.

One billboard declares this the “Ramadan of victory.” On a government building, the faces of former presidents Bashar and Hafez al-Assad are partly cut off from a painting; in their place, “Freedom” is scribbled in Arabic.

Haidar Haidar, who owns a sweets shop, said he was touched that new security force members gave him water and dates while he was out when a call to prayer signaled that those fasting can eat and drink.

“We never saw such things here,” he said, adding that he used to recite Quranic verses for protection before passing through Assad’s checkpoints.

He said his business was doing well this Ramadan and ingredients have become more available.

A boy buys sweets on the first day of Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday March 1, 2025.(AP)

Still, challenges — economic, geopolitical and otherwise — abound.

Many dream of a new Syria, but exactly how that would look remains uncertain.

“The situation is foggy,” said Damascus resident Wassim Bassimah. “Of course, there’s great joy that we’ve gotten rid of the cancer we had, but there’s also a lot of wariness.”

Syrians, he added, must be mindful to protect their country from sliding back into civil war and should maintain a dialogue that is inclusive of all.

“The external enemies are still there,” he said. “So are the enemies from within.”

The war’s scars are inescapable.

Just outside of Damascus, death and destruction are seared into some landscapes littered with pockmarked and ruined structures. Many Syrians grieve the missing and killed; many families have been divided by the exodus of millions as refugees.

Ramadan typically sees festive gatherings with loved ones to break the daily fast. Some Syrians huddle around food and juices at restaurants or throng to Ramadan tents to break their fast and smoke waterpipes as they listen to songs.

But this month’s violence in Syria’s coastal region has stoked fears among some.

The bloodshed began after reports of attacks by Assad loyalists on government security forces. Human rights and monitoring groups reported revenge killings in the counteroffensive, which they said saw the involvement of multiple groups. According to them, hundreds of civilians, or more, were killed; figures couldn't be independently confirmed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of the killed civilians were Alawites in addition to a number of armed Alawites and security forces. Syrian authorities have formed a committee tasked with investigating the violence.

Even before the bloodshed, while many celebrated the new government, others questioned what the ascent of the former opposition forces would mean for freedoms, including of minorities and of those in the majority who are secular-minded or adhere to less conservative interpretations of Islam. The new authorities have made assurances about pluralism.

Sheikh Adham al-Khatib, a representative of Twelver Shiites in Syria, said many from the Shiite minority felt scared after Assad’s ouster and some fled the country. Some later returned, encouraged by a relative calm and the new authorities’ reassurances, he said, but the recent violence and some “individual transgressions" have rekindled fears.