01:44Syria: Youths rave the war away with disco-fever
Syria: Youths rave the war away with disco-fever
Dozens of young Syrians danced the night away Thursday in night clubs in the quarters of Bab Touma and Bab Sharki in old Damascus. Despite fierce fighting in parts of the city, many clubs still operate, giving people the opportunity to dance away the pain of war - if only for a few hours.
The themes of the parties, however, are heavily influenced by the conflict. The DJ at one club plays national songs and tunes supportive of President Bashar Al-Assad and the Syrian Army, with revellers singing and dancing along. One bartender mixes up a Tomahawk cocktail, named after the deadly missile that many expected the US to use against Syria.
According to Rami, the owner of one Damascus nightclub, the war hasn’t discouraged people from partying – quite the opposite.
"In the past year and a half the frequency of parties has picked up. Actually when America was supposed to launch a military strike on Syria on the Thursday they said they would attack on, we had a party that we called ‘Obama's challenge’ and the turnout was above average", Rami said.
Describing the profile of his guests, Rami said, "clients come from all sects - Christians and Muslims, and they come from different parts of Syria."
Young people in Damascus may be facing a 30-month conflict, repeated shelling in their neighbourhoods and the possibility of foreign military intervention, but plenty of residents see this as no reason to disrupt their everyday lives.
"Life goes on in Syria; it's not the same as it was before the crisis. I hope Syria would go back to being what it was and we can go out and have fun more. At the end of every week we go out dancing hoping that things will be better", said a woman partying at a club.
With many Damascus clubs remaining open until 2:00 am, revellers have plenty of time to escape the sound of shelling, and move their bodies to the latest hits.
01:44Syria: Youths rave the war away with disco-fever
Dozens of young Syrians danced the night away Thursday in night clubs in the quarters of Bab Touma and Bab Sharki in old Damascus. Despite fierce fighting in parts of the city, many clubs still operate, giving people the opportunity to dance away the pain of war - if only for a few hours.
The themes of the parties, however, are heavily influenced by the conflict. The DJ at one club plays national songs and tunes supportive of President Bashar Al-Assad and the Syrian Army, with revellers singing and dancing along. One bartender mixes up a Tomahawk cocktail, named after the deadly missile that many expected the US to use against Syria.
According to Rami, the owner of one Damascus nightclub, the war hasn’t discouraged people from partying – quite the opposite.
"In the past year and a half the frequency of parties has picked up. Actually when America was supposed to launch a military strike on Syria on the Thursday they said they would attack on, we had a party that we called ‘Obama's challenge’ and the turnout was above average", Rami said.
Describing the profile of his guests, Rami said, "clients come from all sects - Christians and Muslims, and they come from different parts of Syria."
Young people in Damascus may be facing a 30-month conflict, repeated shelling in their neighbourhoods and the possibility of foreign military intervention, but plenty of residents see this as no reason to disrupt their everyday lives.
"Life goes on in Syria; it's not the same as it was before the crisis. I hope Syria would go back to being what it was and we can go out and have fun more. At the end of every week we go out dancing hoping that things will be better", said a woman partying at a club.
With many Damascus clubs remaining open until 2:00 am, revellers have plenty of time to escape the sound of shelling, and move their bodies to the latest hits.