A man sells tea at a spot on Mount Qasyoun (Qasioun) overlooking Damascus on December 26, 2024. Throughout the Syrian Civil war, which began in 2011, access to the site had been banned by the regime of president Bashar al-Assad. Now Syrians flock there to admire their capital, with its illuminated luxury hotels and its poor suburbs worn out by war. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)