DAMASCUS, Syria—With a slender sword in one hand and an antique storybook in the other, Ahmad al-Lahham captivates a packed Damascus coffeehouse with tales of ancient kingdoms and brave conquerers. I am the only hakawati left in the Old City,” he says. Listeners pack the cafe in the shadow of the famed Ummayad mosque late in the evening after breaking their fast. So we come to the coffee shops to forget – the hakawati’s tales help us do that,” 49-year-old Mohammad Duyub says. “Before the crisis, there was a huge group of us who would travel to Gulf countries and perform Damascene folklore.

Source: The Standard June 24, 2017 10:18 UTC