What happened when Syria’s conservative new leaders tried to shut 60 Damascus bars

Kifah Zainie, 34, co-owns and manages Sugar Man, a popular nightspot in Damascus, on March 27. Zainie says he’s uncertain about the future of the alcohol industry, under Syria’s new conservative Muslim rulers. Hasan Belal for NPR hide caption toggle caption Hasan Belal for NPR DAMASCUS — Naveen Mahmoud was out running errands when an alarmed neighbor called: The conservative Muslim rebels who ousted Syria’s dictator late last year had arrived to shut down the trendy cocktail bar Mahmoud runs in the Old City of Damascus. Two government agents placed an iron rod across the front door of Mahmoud’s bar, called Cosette, and sealed it shut Thursday with red wax — a method that goes back to antiquity. “We were very concerned when they first took power [in December], but they came and said, ‘Everything will be the same [as under deposed President Bashar al-Assad], no worries,’ ” says Mahmoud, 42, who worked in Cyprus and Turkey before returning to her native Syria to open Cosette five years ago. “But all of a sudden, they did this! They didn’t give us any reason, or any warning.” Sponsor Message Middle East Violent crackdown sends Syrian Alawites over the border into Lebanon SYRIANS FLEE TO LEBANON Listen · 4:32 4:32 Transcript Download