Christoph Reuter reports from Atmeh, a transit station in northern Syria where shopkeepers have created a consumer paradise for the foreign fighters on their way south. “[M]ore than 1,000 jihadists are staying in and around Atmeh, making it the densest accumulation of jihadists in all of Syria,” says Reuter:
The Turkish mobile phone network provides strong reception, and the shops carry Afghan pakol wool hats, al Qaeda caps and knee-length black shirts made of the same coarse material used in the Pakistani tribal regions. New restaurants have popped up, and a company called International Contacts books flights and exchanges Saudi riyals, British pounds, euros and US dollars into the local currency. The pharmacy sells miswak, a teeth-cleaning stick from Pakistan with which the Prophet Muhammed supposedly brushed his teeth.
A third Internet café opened in mid-June to accommodate the many jihadists wanting to communicate with their relatives and friends at home via phone, email or chat programs. This prompted the owner of the first café to hang al Qaeda flags above his computers as a sign of loyalty to his customers. The move has improved business despite the growing competition. The heavily armed customers use Skype to tell their friends at home about what a paradise Atmeh is. The rents are cheap, they say, the weather and food are good, they can walk around with their weapons and, with a little luck, they can even find wives.
The Dish 