DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Ten months after Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was overthrown when Islamist fighters marched into Damascus, many Syrians still go out and party despite some crackdowns over the past months by the country’s new rulers.
Many restaurants, pubs and night clubs remain open in the capital and people can have a meal in places where alcoholic beverages are served.
Since insurgent groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa took power in early December, some Islamic rules have been imposed in Syria, which for decades had been run by secular governments.
In June, Syrian authorities said women should wear the all-encompassing burkini for swimming except in upscale resorts. Still, in private resorts along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, it is still common to see men and women in bathing suits and sipping alcoholic beverages.
Around the same time, bearded gunmen beat up men and women partying at nightclubs in Damascus in videos that were widely circulated, raising fears among Syrians
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