BBC: When civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, tourism was hit badly, forcing Somar Hazim to close his boutique hotel in Damascus.
While millions of Syrians fled their country, Somar decided to stay despite having lost his business.Three years ago he started a new company and opened one of the first bars in the old town area of Syria’s government-controlled capital.
Somar says nightlife in the city is thriving, despite Damascus being ranked the least liveable city in the world earlier this month.
“Everybody was coming to see this place, to see who are those people who opened this place in the middle of the war,” he tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.
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