In Adamiyah, a Sunni neighborhood that had been in the grip of Al Qaeda, I watched Iraqis pourintothestreets, clapping and cheering, to celebrate a wedding.
That the Syrian people continue to pour out intothestreets each Friday afternoon in the face of guaranteed government attacks shows the mobilization of large numbers may not be easily curtailed when a period of calm is declared.
Coast Guard crews re-create search-and-rescue missions, while thousands of sailors and the tourists drawn in their wake pour into city bars and onto thestreets.