By the tomb of Saladin in the old city of Damascus, dozens of Syrians each day pray for the repose of the warrior who liberated Jerusalem -- and for Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to emulate his victories today.
In the narrow lanes of the old town and the modern sector of the Syrian capital, posters of the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement are plastered on cars and the front of shops alongside the yellow flag of Hezbollah. On widely displayed pictures of former president Hafez al-Assad, his son and successor Bashar, Nasrallah's image has replaced that of Assad's eldest son Basel, who died in 1998 -- a significant sign of popular and official support for the Hezbollah leader.
T-shirts bearing Nasrallah's effigy sell like loaves of bread. Many Syrians see the Hezbollah chief as the embodiment of Saladin, for leading a war under the banner of Islam, of Gamal Abdel Nasser for defying Israel, and Che Guevara for his life as a guerrilla leader.
"He is all these heroes in one, but above all he is the Saladin of our time -- this one who can liberate Jerusalem" -- as did the Kurdish warrior in 1187 against the Crusaders, said Manar el-Samer, 31, standing near Saladin's tomb.
"Nasrallah is the only one to threaten Israel in the heart of its territory. For 15 days, his fighters have been fiercely resisting the most powerful military force in the region, while the Egyptian army collapsed in six days," added the medical workers, referring to the June 1967 war with Israel.
Munir Shehab al-Din, aged 45, commented: "Nasrallah is Saladin. It is someone audacious like he who will return Jerusalem (from Israel) and restore Arab glory."
Maha, a 21-year-old, recalls that the Hezbollah leader had not shielded his own son. "While Arab leaders fuss over their sons to make sure they inherit power, (Nasrallah's son) Hadi was killed in combat" in 1997. Outside a store in Damascus's Souq al-Hamidiya, Mohammed uses his mobile to contact his supplier for new stocks of Nasrallah T-shirts which sell at 200 Syrian pounds (four dollars) each.
"I've been selling 600 to 700 of these each day since the start of the fighting. More than double the sales before the clashes began. Customers are of all ages, all classes. Many are Lebanese Shiites," he said.
Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers sparked the massive Israeli offensive against Lebanon on July 12, forcing thousands of Lebanese families to flee to neighbouring Syria to escape the relentless raids which have killed more than 400 people, most of them civilians.
In the Al-Qods (Jerusalem) bookshop, photos of the smiling and bearded face of Nasrallah provides strong competition to those of Arab pop stars.
"There's always been a demand for pictures of Nasrallah but that was mainly among our Shiite brothers. Since the beginning of the crisis, Sunnis and Christians have also bought many of them," said shopowner Shafik Musseili.
Inside the shop, Mohamed Moad was buying Nasrallah pictures in bulk for his own shop in the village of Deir Atteya, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the capital. His stock had run out.
"In our village, where the population is not mainly Shiite, photos of Nasrallah are everywhere -- on cars, in shops, and there is not a single house where his picture does not have pride of place in the living room," said Moad.
The destruction in Lebanon has turned even Syrians with American links against the superpower with its unconditional backing for the bloody Israeli offensive.
Maha, an opthamologist whose three sons are studying in the United States, demanded to know how Israel's bombing of Lebanon's milk plants was linked to fighting Hezbollah.
"It's too much. The United States is guilty... I want Hezbollah to inflict the greatest possible losses" on Israel, she said, adding that she was not a Hezbollah supporter. Another woman, also named Maha, aged 50, said originally she had denounced the capture of the two Israeli soldiers but the Jewish state's response had made her change her mind.
"It is a systematic destruction of Lebanon, its airports, roads, ports, bridges, telecommunication installations, not just the bases of Hezbollah," she said. In the main road of the Damascus souq, a huge poster has this message for Nasrallah and his dead son.
"The Syrian people, from the depths of their hearts, tell you: 'We are with you and the resistance, Aba Hadi. They claim that you are a terrorist, while all religions say that he who fights the occupiers in defence of his homeland, is not a terrorist. May Allah see you emerge victorious."
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