Some Syrians see the project as the Turkifaction of these areas at the expense of its Arab heritage and roots. Others are eager to learn Turkish, seeing it as a way to unlock economic opportunities.
The depth of anger at the government is back on show after a stop to fuel subsidies sparked fresh protests. This comes amid an ongoing economic crisis that has no end in sight.
Now known as the Sweida Governorate, it has a unique history, steeped in resistance to empires and colonialists. This is its story of the mountain, dating back to a flight from the Levant.
Since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, the two major supporters of the Damascus regime, Russia and Iran, have both tried to deepen their ties with the country and its people with mixed results.
While the majority of Syrians grapple with a worsening economic crisis and can barely get by, a shrinking group of regime loyalists are profiting at the expense of others
Al Majalla reveals the details of secret presidential discussions between Washington and Damascus during a time of flux in the Middle East as global dynamics shifted
At the turn of the 20th century, New York's Syrian Quarter was a vibrant residential, cultural, and commercial hub for immigrants from Ottoman Syria. In 1945, most of it was rendered obsolete.
Syria's whopping 830 foreign military bases represent the largest number of foreign military bases in its history. Al Majalla maps out the breakdown of regional and global presence there.
The only way Syrians would seriously consider returning home is through a political solution and putting a process in place to facilitate economic and social recovery
Despite the war's unpopularity, Trump seems determined to press on until he can claim a decisive victory, whether by diplomacy, force, or a combination of the two
A Democrat-majority Congress will clip his wings at home, but he will have far more freedom to act on foreign affairs, given the powers he still retains as commander-in-chief
French novelist Philippe Jaenada's novel 'The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel' wins big, while the Prix Renaudot goes to François-Henri Désérable for his novel about an unlikely wine expert