At the Four Seasons in Damascus, power shifts but the elite remain

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

A symbol of Bashar al-Assad's grip on Syria, this luxury hotel, which opened in 2005 in the heart of the capital, was the scene of lavish parties and business dealings among those close to the regime, until the fall of the dictator in December 2024. For a time, it served as the headquarters of the n