Ashraf Zeinah: The photographer snapping pictures of the good life - in Syria

Wedding frolics, music concerts and basketball - in a war-torn country.

The Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000, displaced millions and prompted a wave of refugees to neighbouring countries, Europe and elsewhere. The scale of the devastation is so massive that it might seem surprising that there are places inside the country that look mostly untouched by war.

One of those places is Latakia, in the northwest of the country and a stronghold of the Alawite sect - the same group that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family belong to. The fighting is not far away, and thousands of people fleeing from elsewhere have arrived there, swelling the population and straining local services. But on Instagram, Latakia is still a place where a very different culture is visible. Searches for photos tagged Latakia (also spelled Lattakia) show beaches, nightclubs and idyllic scenes.

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One of Latakia's most prolific photographers is Ashraf Zeinah. He has nearly 2,000 Instagram followers and 18,000 more on Facebook, and he spoke to BBC Trending about the stories behind some of the most striking photographs he's shared.

"During a wedding photo shoot I saw some people playing and jumping," Zeinah says. "One waved from me to shoot pictures of them. I had to apologise to the bride and groom." Several of the boys in the photo, he says, were from Aleppo and other parts of Syria that have seen heavy fighting, and had fled to Latakia for their safety. "You can feel the happiness of the kids. These photos give me some hope."

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"This was a big concert several days ago in the theatre here in Latakia," Zeinah says. "The show is planning to go to Damascus." Before the war started, he travelled around Syria photographing architectural sites, work that has ended because of the fighting. He now takes pictures of weddings and other public events such as this one.

The photographer told these basketball players to wear uniforms with "Syria" written on them. "It was my idea," Zeinah says. "I used to photograph basketball and soccer teams here in Latakia before the crisis. I have friendships with some of the players. I decided to take them to a Roman theatre near Latakia. My idea was to let people outside Syria know about real life here."

"This is a homeless man in a garden here in Latakia" he says. "I think he may have been drunk. He was sad and unhappy. I asked him if I could take his photo, he agreed on one condition - that I pay him. But could I get him to smile? No way."

Despite the happy moments he's paid to capture on film, the war is never far away. Zeinah says he makes frequent trips to camps to photograph people who've fled the conflict, including the sleeping child above. "Latakia is not affected directly, but we are suffering from a lot of other things," he says, including power cuts and strained public services. Despite the war, Zeinah says he wants to remain in Syria and continue taking photos.

Blog by Mike Wendling

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