• Admin
• Jan 26, 2026
• Resilience of Traditional Businesses

The Barber Known by All of Homs

In his men’s barber shop located in the old Homs market, Samir Qassirawi Abu Tamam (67 years old) stands in front of “Wadiyan Salon,” which dates back 140 years, practicing hairdressing for 50 years, a craft passed down from his fathers and ancestors. Meanwhile, rubble workers gather debris, lift stones, and clean blackened walls from neighboring shops, in a step to restore the historic abandoned market of Homs to what it was before the war.

In the “Awneh al-Hamma” market, one of Homs’ heritage markets located in its southern area, named after a sulfur spring used to treat “Hamma” in children, barber Abu Tamam decided to reopen his salon. His shop is the only one among hundreds of nearby closed stores damaged by the war, which has lasted in the country for 14 years, awaiting the return of their owners and trades after the fall of the previous regime and the flight of ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Ayyubi and Mamluki

Qassirawi told Asharq Al-Awsat how he was forced to leave his salon and close it for about 7 years between 2015 and 2022, after regime forces loyal to the ousted president Bashar al-Assad tightened control over shop owners in this market. He said:
“My shop is at the beginning of the market on its southern side, and the former regime’s forces set up a checkpoint inspecting everyone entering and leaving. This caused me to leave work and remain unemployed for years.”

Despite the destruction of his house and most of his shop, he decided to reopen it. He expressed that he is “very optimistic after the fall of the regime, and, God willing, Homs markets will return better than they were.”

Abu Tamam lost his eldest son after he was detained by the former intelligence services in 2012 and died under torture the same year, like many Syrians who suffered greatly during Assad’s rule. His shop is located in the historical market block of old Homs, which dates back to the Ayyubi and Mamluki eras, built in the Mamluki architectural style with arches adorned with decorative stars. However, many shops and markets were damaged due to the combat fires in the old city, while some suffered damage from the earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey in February 2023.

Yasser Al-Taybani, one of the first shoe merchants to return after the liberation of old Homs to the market, popularly known as the “Al-Maqbi Market,” told Asharq Al-Awsat how he abandoned his trade and closed the shop due to the harshness of the war years ago.
“This shop dates back to 1875, passed down from my great-grandfather, and like most shops, it was partially damaged as all Homs markets were,” he said, noting that the stability of the Syrian pound against foreign currencies affects buying and selling activity. “Before the fall of the regime, everything was expensive and beyond citizens’ ability, but today, the most expensive piece in the shop is worth 100,000, equivalent to 10 US dollars.”