Bāb

“Wherever you go there are eyes watching you,” says Ziad, a 19-year-old from al-Bab.

There were not many moderates around two years ago, as I found in Al Bab then, and there are far fewer now.

Still, amid the uncertainty the residents of Bab al-Salameh do their best to carve a semblance of order into their lives.

Compounding this is the fact that Bab al-Salameh, while significantly safer than most other areas, is still in a war zone.

Nowhere are these disparate conditions more evident than in Bab al-Salameh.

Instead, you have to wear an unbecoming frock like the gentleman in the Bab ballads, and work on the roads.

Mother Bab was thinking of her boy and Phœbe, of their gay comradeship.

Afterward, when Mother Bab had been taken away, he sought Phœbe.

She wanted to be with Mother Bab—should he tell her of his love?

Mother Bab delighted in flowers and planted all the old favorites.