Amid Aleppo's Ruins, Residents Begin the Long Road Home

Years of civil war turned entire districts of Aleppo, Syria, into empty shells. Now, after the conflict's end, people are returning, determined to rebuild their lives from the rubble. In the damaged suburb of Amiriya, a kebab stall operates in the shadow of a half-destroyed building. The vendor works under a tarpaulin, using a wheelbarrow as a table. He waits for customers who are still few. The streets are largely deserted here. This area was once the frontline between rebel and government forces. But signs of life are emerging. Children play on a rusty motorcycle. A woman sells basic goods from a small shack. One young man digs through the wreckage by hand, collecting old limestone blocks. He stacks them neatly, saving them to repair his house. "They are much better than the new ones," he says. The work of rebuilding a city has begun, one stone at a time.