AZAZ, Syria — After years of war, life is returning to a large area of Aleppo province. Restaurants and resorts have opened to provide dining and recreational services to longtime residents and thousands of displaced people following the expulsion of the Islamic State (IS) under Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield; the businesses are also providing provided seasonal employment opportunities.

The region in question, controlled by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), represents just over 12% of the total surface area of Aleppo province. It includes major cities, each with a population of more than 100,000 — such as Azaz, al-Bab, Jarablus, Marea and al-Ghandoura — in addition to dozens of villages and towns.

Abdel Rahman Mohamed and his wife have been visiting the Pizza House in Azaz once a week since the establishment opened in early June. The couple spend a quiet evening in the restaurant's family section, enjoy a delicious pizza, drink hot or cold drinks and smoke a hookah — all for around 4,000 Syrian pounds ($7.75).

Mohamed, 28, left his home in al-Kalassa neighborhood in Aleppo city in May 2016 before Bashar al-Assad's regime launched a military operation in September 2016 to recapture eastern Aleppo from the opposition. Mohamed and his wife now live in Azaz.