When Syrian schools broke up for the summer in July, Nesrine al-Haj Ali decided to go to the beach. Syria has a substantial stretch of Mediterranean coastline, but al-Haj Ali, 40, had never seen it before. Still dressed in her manto, the overcoat many veiled Syrian women wear, she walked over the hot sand into the waves, not stopping until the water reached her shoulders. 

She was nearly out of her depth and, suddenly afraid, started to turn back. Her husband, who was beside her in the water, pointed out that her manto would cling to her when she emerged. It was such a ridiculous bit of fussing that she forgot about her fear and laughed. “What, should I wait for everyone to leave before getting out?” 

Syria’s beaches are receiving a large number of first-time visitors this summer. Resorts remained open throughout the 14-year civil war, but for many Syrians the political and sectarian geography of the conflict rendered them off-limits.