The Turkish lira contributed to the revival of the markets of Idlib governorate, which is under the control of the opposition, in northwestern Syria, after it started trading in place of the local currency, whose value witnessed a record decline during the last period, according to a report of the Anatolia Agency.
The agency quoted the owner of a banking office in the town of Sarmada, Idlib, as saying that the Idlib market had witnessed a boom with the circulation of the Turkish lira in the region.
He stressed that the economic situation improved somewhat with the introduction of the lira into the region, expressing his hope that the scope of Turkish lira circulation in all sectors in Idlib would expand.
It also quoted the owner of the grocery store in Sarmada, confirming the increasing demand for the Turkish lira by citizens and merchants, explaining that workers in the region started to take their wages in the Turkish lira.
The report said - according to one of the citizens - that people need some time to get used to the prices in the Turkish currency.
After the record devaluation of the local Syrian currency, Idlib residents began using the Turkish lira to maintain their purchasing power.
The unprecedented collapse in the value of the Syrian pound since the beginning of this June has prompted the opposition and local councils to openly call for the circulation of the Turkish lira and pricing essential food items such as bread, in addition to gold prices, according to Al Jazeera Net reporter from northern Syria earlier this month.
Facilitating people's lives
On Friday, the Minister of Economy of the Syrian Provisional Government, Abdul Hakim Al-Masry, told Anatolia that the circulation of the Turkish lira will facilitate the lives of people in the region.
Al-Masry added that the adoption of the Turkish currency aims to solve the crisis caused by the depreciation of the Syrian pound against the dollar.
He stated that the American "Caesar" law, Lebanon's protests, and the differences between the Syrian regime and businessman Rami Makhlouf further deteriorated the Syrian pound.
He pointed to pumping quantities of Turkish currency into the market for circulation, which contributed to the stability of the financial situation in the region and protecting the purchasing power of citizens and traders.
Al-Masry had told Al-Jazeera Net ten days ago that the interim government had begun the process of replacing the Syrian pound with more stable currencies after the heavy losses suffered.
The idea of replacing the Syrian currency with Turkish in the opposition-controlled areas is not new. It was raised on previous occasions, but it has not been widely activated.
The value of the Syrian pound fell to 2,650 per dollar in trading on Saturday, according to the site "the lira today," while the exchange rate did not exceed 50 pounds per dollar before 2011.