There are no windows and no running water in the Qilawi family's house in the southern suburbs of Damascus.
Father Mohammed Qilawi, his two wives and five children have returned from Lebanon in recent months, saying they were forced out of their refugee camp there and back to "liberated" Syria.
"Living in Lebanon, we even found it better than here," Mr Qilawi told the ABC.
"But the problem is the camp pressured us very, very much [to return]. If they hadn't pressured us, we wouldn't have returned here to Syria."
The family's apartment building was bombed by Syrian government forces when this suburb, Darayya, rose up against the regime and was occupied by rebels from 2012 to 2016.
Since returning, the family have cleared debris and put carpets and mattresses on the concrete floor.
They are scavenging wood from the wreckage to burn for warmth.
Mohammed is also trying to find work where he can but is struggling to make ends meet.
"Life here is very, very hard because work has become scarce and we are getting by day by day," Mohammed said.
"There is work one day [but on another] I don't work. And even diesel, and diapers, and milk [are unaffordable]. The situation is difficult."
Today will mark one year since the Assad dictatorship in Syria was toppled by Islamist rebels, bringing an end to nearly 14 years of civil war.
Throughout the conflict, more than 6 million Syrians fled overseas, many ending up in refugee camps in countries across the Middle East.
Now they're returning to a country still devastated by more than a decade of civil war in which more than half a million people died.
The United Nations estimates 1.2 million Syrian refugees have returned in the past 12 months.
Another father, Ahmed Atah Alawi, returned six months ago to Darayya from Lebanon with his family, only to find their apartment uninhabitable.
"We returned to find it destroyed, barrel bombs had come down on it," he said.
"We want to fix just two rooms now, but they said it would cost 150 million [Syrian pounds, $A18,500] and there is no money."
Life slowly improving
Syria's civil war was sparked in 2011 when the regime's brutal response to street protests turned widespread discontent into a full-blown rebellion.
The nation fractured into different regions controlled by various militias and the Islamic State terrorist group.
The Islamist rebels who ousted Bashar Al-Assad primarily came from a designated terrorist organisation known as Hay'at Tahrir al Sham (organisation for the liberation of the Levant), but have since swapped military fatigues for business suits and rebranded themselves as Syria's transitional government.
They promised to prioritise Syria's recovery and improve relations with its neighbours and the West, especially the United States, which has since lifted many sanctions to give the new government a chance to succeed.
Syrians told the ABC that services had been slowly improving.
At Damascus's central public hospital, Al Mujtahed (Damascus Hospital), the state of the morgue is a measure of progress.
Staff are proud to show a bank of functioning mortuary cabinets and a working freezer for newly received bodies, which they said were previously left to decompose for days before a space could be found.
"All the mortuary cabinets were previously broken. After the liberation, all this was repaired," morgue manager Nayef Hassan explained, while showing the ABC the upgraded facility.
"Everything became good. Even the [freezer]) room was repaired. Before the liberation, this room was broken.
"The situation is much better than before."
It's far from perfect: the hospital's emergency department is full, and new patients arrive constantly, some on the backs of utes which serve as makeshift ambulances.
But staff say there are now some medical supplies, and failing equipment is finally being repaired.
"Previously, the hospital was dilapidated to the extent that any patient visiting was forced to go out and buy even the intravenous catheter, even the sterile gauze piece that he wanted to use for him to dress a wound," logistics manager Wassim al Boukai told the ABC.
"The improvement … is happening from the date of liberation until today.
"We are starting approximately from zero point, and we started with the support provided to the hospital by the efforts of the Ministry of Health and Health Directorate, which we built, step by step, something, God willing, that provides good health service to people."
Harsh economy
Syria's economy contracted enormously during the war, causing hyperinflation and widespread unemployment.
The new government is trying to rebuild the finance sector and has received some technical assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
But any improvements have been slow to filter down to the general population, with cash shortages and restrictions meaning people were often forced to queue for long periods to withdraw small amounts of money throughout the year.
Prior to Assad's fall, it took 22,000 Syrian pounds to buy one US dollar on the black market. Now the exchange rate is closer to 12,000 Syrian pounds to one US dollar ($A8,000).
But while the situation has improved, Syrians still have to carry around wads of cash, some bearing Assad's face, just to buy essentials.
The government has announced plans to re-denominate the currency to remove two zeros from each banknote, but many economists are sceptical about whether that will help.
At the produce market on Damascus Street, fruits and vegetables cost around 5,000 to 10,000 pounds per kilogram, with many items of poor quality and in poor condition.
Nevertheless, some shoppers said more food was available and the prices of some food made inside Syria had actually come down, because it was easier to move goods around inside the country.
"The situation is very good, better," Damascus resident Mohamad Hoda el Darwish told the ABC.
"We want countries outside to help Syria. This is very necessary because the country was very tired, infrastructure was bad and our treatment was bad.
"Now it is far better."
Country prepares to celebrate 'Liberation day'
Billboards around Damascus advertise December 8, the anniversary of Assad's flight from Syria, as "Liberation Day," saying "One Nation, one people."
Other signs pronounce it as the day "History is recounted" and "a pact is renewed" between the people and the state.
They also advertise a Revolutionary Military Expo in Damascus, where vehicles and weapons used by rebels in the civil war will be displayed at the Damascus fairgrounds.
Grade six teacher Rihane Atiye has brought some students, wrapped in Syrian flags and scarves, to the city's iconic Umayyad mosque to mark the occasion.
"Liberation Day is a holiday that has great importance for the Syrian people because they suffered for 14 years from guilt and oppression and tyranny," she said.
"So this is Liberation Day for everyone, for the old and young and children, for all the Syrian people.
"This gift of liberation was the most beautiful gift God gave for our suffering and honoured us with it."
Many Syrians remain unsure about the country's future, telling the ABC that progress is slow.
They also expressed distrust of certain elements of the new government, specifically the former jihadist fighters, and were uncertain whether the government could contain future outbreaks of sectarian violence.
Armed members of the new "Internal Security Service" patrol the streets and stopped the ABC multiple times to check media permits and filming permissions.
In one district, a street informer — reminiscent of the network of thugs and spies employed by the former regime — called security services when he observed our crew carrying camera equipment.
People in the city centre also said they had no work, no money and often nowhere to live.
Huge amounts of the country's housing and infrastructure remain damaged or destroyed.
Syria's government has said it wants the recovery to be driven by investment, not aid, but despite the easing of sanctions, many Western companies remain reluctant to invest in Syria.
Nevertheless, people also said the absence of conflict, gradual improvement of services and the apparent reduction in corruption were all reasons to hope.
"You see this joy on everyone's features, happiness, comfort, [and] freedom is the most precious thing for a human, honestly," Ms Atiye said.
"Even our children are happy with this freedom."
