Residents in Damascus, Syria, have made festive preparations for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Falling on the night of April 9 with celebrations going into the next day, Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan. Ahead of the occasion, locals in the old city gathered in neighbourhoods and cafes after breakfast.

[Dateline: Recent]

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Storyline:
Residents in the old city of Damascus, Syria have made festive preparations for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, tapping into the joy of ancient traditions in a way that transcends the impacts of war and U.S. sanctions on the country.

Falling on the night of April 9 with celebrations going into the next day, Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan. Ahead of the occasion, locals in the old city gathered in neighborhoods and cafes after breakfast with delight.

Due to the harsh conditions in the wake of a U.S. economic blockade, they have to resort to simple and popular sweets to celebrate.

Nonetheless, neighborhoods buzzed with various activities before the festival.

Throughout the month of Ramadan, one member of a community is often appointed the role of musaharati, who goes along the streets beating a drum to wake up residents each night. On the night of Eid al-Fitr, they have a special duty to fulfill.

Shotlist:
Damascus, Syria - Recent:
1. Chairs, table outdoors; various of diners in restaurant;
2. Various of food stalls;
3. Various of different sweets;
4. Various of sweet shop;
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bassam Al-Maidani, baker (partially overlaid with shot 6):
"The prices of sweets, including pistachios and other things, are high. People also pick bitter orange and grapefruit and make jam from them before Eid al-Fitr. They stuff the jam into sweets and they are very tasty.";
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6. Various of people making sweets;
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7. Various of residents gathering, dancing, singing;
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abu Riyad, resident (partially overlaid with shot 9):
"The festive vibe is already filling the old neighborhoods. I have been sitting for an hour and I cannot enter the barber shop. There are so many people inside and I can not get in. But I will wait. You can see the people are very happy -- the men are preening their clothes and others are preparing candies.";
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9. Various of barber shop;
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10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muammar Attar, musaharati (partially overlaid with shot 11):
"I am the musaharati. I feel tired throughout the month. I wake people up to worship Allah for fasting during the Ramadan. Now Eid al-Fitr is around the corner and at night when Eid al-Fitr pauses, I will go and inform them, which is a blessing.";
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11. People playing cards;
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12. Waiters of sweet shop;
13. Pedestrians;
14. Various of street market, shops, pedestrians, vehicles.

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