Muhammad Salem al-Nouri, 71, opens Dar al-Maarifa library which was forced to close in 2000 because of poor sales and growing costs, in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 12, 2021.- The Damascus bookshops and publishing houses that once stood as beacons of Syria's intellectual life are being replaced with shoe shops and money changers, as culture falls casualty to crisis. AFP
Muhammad Salem al-Nouri, 71, walks by fully stacked shelves at the Dar al-Maarifa library, which was forced to close in 2000 because of poor sales and growing costs, in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 12, 2021. AFP
Muhammad Salem al-Nouri, 71, blows dust off a book at the Dar al-Maarifa library, which was forced to close in 2000 because of poor sales and growing costs, in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 12, 2021. AFP
An employee checks a book at the Al-Nouri bookstore, which was founded in 1930 and is threatened with closure, in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 17, 2021. AFP
An employee checks a book at the Al-Nouri bookstore, which was founded in 1930 and is threatened with closure, in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 17, 2021. AFP
Khalil Haddad reads a book at the Dar Oussama publishing house in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 12, 2021. AFP
Khalil Haddad works at the Dar Oussama publishing house in the Syrian capital Damascus on October 12, 2021. AFP