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Syria-Bazaar/Revitalization
FILE: Homs, Syria - 2015 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
1. Various of damaged buildings
FILE: Homs, Syria - August 2016 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
2. Various of staff of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) carrying out repair work of damaged bazaar
3. Bazaar under repair
Homs, Syria - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
4. UNDP staff carrying out repair work
5. Various of peeled walls
6. Various of bazaar after repair; children; shop owners; shoppers; merchandise on display
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nizar Soufi, shop owner:
"This is our old shop and also where we belong, so we have the responsibility to rebuild it. We should restart our businesses even if there are just a few customers. We also need to encourage others to return, because our future is right here."
8. Man sitting in shop
9. Merchandise on display
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nizar Soufi, shop owner (ending with shot 10):
"The business was very good before the crisis. Now, it's improving. It's just alright. At first we had very few customers so we just sat around. But now, more people are coming."
11. Various of Soufi with customer
12. Customer looking at Soufi's merchandise
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mala Dahman, customer (starting with shot 11):
"I really missed this ancient Syrian town, especially this bazaar. I came back from abroad to shop here. I like it here so I bought all kinds of things. I really missed this place and love it very much."
14. Buildings
15. Various of solar panels on roof
16. Buildings
An old bazaar in Syria's western city of Homs has gradually come back to life three years after the Syrian government reached reconciliation deal with opposition groups and a long time of efforts to rebuild the market.
The bazaar, which was more than a century old, had been a major tourist attraction in Homs before the city was engulfed by fighting a few years back.
As the conflict unfolded, the once sprawling bazaar was turned into a battlefield. Shops and stalls were destroyed and most of the vendors fled.
Syrian government forces retook control of the city in May 2014, and in June 2016, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) joined the Syrian government in rebuilding the battered market.
After more than two years of work, more than half of the damaged roofs have been repaired and garbage on the streets have also been cleared.
A small number of shop owners have reopened their business but most of the shops remain empty.
Although far from its original glory, the bazaar is seeing more and more visitors these days.
Nizar Soufi, who owns a textile store in the bazaar, returned six months ago.
"This is our old shop and also where we belong, so we have the responsibility to rebuild it. We should restart our businesses even if there are just a few customers. We also need to encourage others to return, because our future is right here," said Soufi.
Soufi also said that business is picking up.
"The business was very good before the crisis. Now, it's improving. It's just alright. At first we had very few customers so we just sat around. But now, more people are coming," said Soufi.
The market is reviving with more and more customers, even those who have returned to Homs from abroad.
Mala Dahman, a customer, said she missed the bazaar.
"I really missed this ancient Syrian town, especially this bazaar. I came back from abroad to shop here. I like it here so I bought all kinds of things. I really missed this place and love it very much," said Dahman.
Elsewhere in the city, destruction can be seen almost in every corner but reconstruction has been ongoing.
Syria-Bazaar/Revitalization
Dateline : Recent/File
Location : Syrian Arab Republic
Duration : 2'27
FILE: Homs, Syria - 2015 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
1. Various of damaged buildings
FILE: Homs, Syria - August 2016 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
2. Various of staff of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) carrying out repair work of damaged bazaar
3. Bazaar under repair
Homs, Syria - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV)
4. UNDP staff carrying out repair work
5. Various of peeled walls
6. Various of bazaar after repair; children; shop owners; shoppers; merchandise on display
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nizar Soufi, shop owner:
"This is our old shop and also where we belong, so we have the responsibility to rebuild it. We should restart our businesses even if there are just a few customers. We also need to encourage others to return, because our future is right here."
8. Man sitting in shop
9. Merchandise on display
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nizar Soufi, shop owner (ending with shot 10):
"The business was very good before the crisis. Now, it's improving. It's just alright. At first we had very few customers so we just sat around. But now, more people are coming."
11. Various of Soufi with customer
12. Customer looking at Soufi's merchandise
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mala Dahman, customer (starting with shot 11):
"I really missed this ancient Syrian town, especially this bazaar. I came back from abroad to shop here. I like it here so I bought all kinds of things. I really missed this place and love it very much."
14. Buildings
15. Various of solar panels on roof
16. Buildings
An old bazaar in Syria's western city of Homs has gradually come back to life three years after the Syrian government reached reconciliation deal with opposition groups and a long time of efforts to rebuild the market.
The bazaar, which was more than a century old, had been a major tourist attraction in Homs before the city was engulfed by fighting a few years back.
As the conflict unfolded, the once sprawling bazaar was turned into a battlefield. Shops and stalls were destroyed and most of the vendors fled.
Syrian government forces retook control of the city in May 2014, and in June 2016, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) joined the Syrian government in rebuilding the battered market.
After more than two years of work, more than half of the damaged roofs have been repaired and garbage on the streets have also been cleared.
A small number of shop owners have reopened their business but most of the shops remain empty.
Although far from its original glory, the bazaar is seeing more and more visitors these days.
Nizar Soufi, who owns a textile store in the bazaar, returned six months ago.
"This is our old shop and also where we belong, so we have the responsibility to rebuild it. We should restart our businesses even if there are just a few customers. We also need to encourage others to return, because our future is right here," said Soufi.
Soufi also said that business is picking up.
"The business was very good before the crisis. Now, it's improving. It's just alright. At first we had very few customers so we just sat around. But now, more people are coming," said Soufi.
The market is reviving with more and more customers, even those who have returned to Homs from abroad.
Mala Dahman, a customer, said she missed the bazaar.
"I really missed this ancient Syrian town, especially this bazaar. I came back from abroad to shop here. I like it here so I bought all kinds of things. I really missed this place and love it very much," said Dahman.
Elsewhere in the city, destruction can be seen almost in every corner but reconstruction has been ongoing.
ID : 8083887
Published : 2018-06-25 08:03
Last Modified : 2018-06-25 20:05:00
Source : China Central Television (CCTV)
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland/Orient TV/Syria Alshaab TV/Zanoubia TV/Alhurra TV/ANN TV/Al Jazeera/Al-Arabiya TV
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