The first bar re-opened and local customers had their drinks in the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh on Tuesday, nine months after so-called Islamic State (ISIS) militants were routed from it in the early stages of a campaign to retake Mosul which ended last week.
The customers are mainly local Christians who are tentatively returning home three years after fleeing en masse when the jihadists overran their town and issued an ultimatum: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die.
Some of the bar’s patrons, however, are Muslims, savouring the freedom to drink and smoke, which they were denied under ISIS.
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They come here for respite from the grim realities of the conflict, but for Muslim and Christian customers alike, the conversation soon turns to the war and its aftermath.
For Christians, who trace their history in Iraq back two millennia, ISIS has called into question the very future of their community in the predominantly Muslim Middle East.
The owner of the bar, Abu Firas, hopes that re-opening it will breathe life back into his town and help reverse the exodus of its Christian population.
The bar is only open to outsiders until 8 pm. After that, only Christians are welcome.
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