QARDAHA, LATAKIA, Syria — There is a long, winding road leading to what was once the family home of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad just outside Latakia on Syria's Mediterranean coast. On either side of the road in the village of Burj al-Islam, there are lush orange trees and olive trees. The quiet of the property is only disturbed by the sound of electric sawing. Dozens of Syrians are cutting and collecting wood branches, tying them in bunches and hauling them on the back of pickup trucks, bicycles and motorcycles. They zip down the road and out of the grounds.
Hanan Sary, 40, said people in her village were never allowed in this forest before. They never had the right kind of wood to burn in stoves to keep warm, but the wood here is perfect.
"See our land with all these olives, we could never enter it before, but now we're here," Sary told NPR.
A few minutes' drive away is the gate of the summer villa. There is a large group of armed guards drinking tea and letting cars in. People are lined up at the entrance, waiting to visit the house like it's a museum.
The modern white building is surrounded by gardens of cacti, palm trees and all kinds of flowers. The villa is sprawling, with a massive kitchen, a swimming pool and a private beach. It is reported to have been built 50 years ago.
Inside, the house is now completely empty of furniture. Very quickly after Assad and his family fled Syria when the autocratic ruler was toppled last month, ordinary Syrians entered the previously off-limits home — and looted it. Wires are exposed on the walls where the TVs were snatched, light fixtures yanked from the ceilings, glass shattered, sinks pulled from bathroom counters. Even heating and air conditioning units are gone.
It's easy to get lost in the villa amid countless walk-in closets, ensuite bathrooms with modern showers, and bedroom after bedroom. The primary bathroom has a large Jacuzzi bathtub that overlooks the Mediterranean, fit for a bubble bath with a sunset view. The toilet, shower and mirror are all smashed in. The huge kitchen has a bar, large sinks and countertops fit for a professional chef.
On the walls of one of the living rooms is black spray-painted graffiti cursing the recently deposed ruler.
"The palace of the serial killer, Bashar al-Assad," it reads in Arabic.
Mohamed Ismail, 25, is among the Syrians touring the home. He poses for a photo on one of the multiple balconies, and says he's enthralled by the house, but also bitter.
"He kept his people living in poverty while he lived in a palace with a million rooms," Ismail says about the former president.
Outside, the gardens are well manicured and vast. There is a space for entertaining — a pizza oven, a bar, and an area to cook. There is a swimming pool along with a row of showers and bathrooms to rinse off in after a dip.
This was home to one of the most secretive dictators in the world, and now Syrians who were terrified to say anything about him are freely wandering around what was once his living room.
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