Mohammed Mohiedin Anis

Early life Anis studied medicine in Zaragoza, Spain, in the 1970s. His father was a wealthy textile dye entrepreneur.

Career In the 1970s, he was employed in Italy translating Fiat car manuals into Arabic.

His first purchase was a 1947 Plymouth. In January 2016, he had 24 vintage cars, having lost six to shelling. To prevent theft of the cars, he removes the steering wheels and seats. During the conflict, his neighbours stopped rebels who wanted to mount an anti-aircraft gun on a 1958 Chevrolet.

He had to leave Aleppo for a time at the height of the Battle of Aleppo, and when he returned only 13 cars were left (including his 1947 Cadillac convertible, now badly damaged), seven having been impounded by the Syrian police, and 10 either missing or destroyed in the war. In March 2017, Anis estimated that altogether, one-third of the collection had been either destroyed or stolen. He says, "When one of my cars is hit, it's as if I or one of my relatives has been hit. It's as if they were my children, so I come down to check on them".

Personal life Anis lives alone in the formerly rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Shaar in Aleppo, his family having fled due to the war. He has eight children with two wives, one in Aleppo, the other in Hama, and would like to leave his cars to his children, two to every boy, one to every girl. He speaks five languages, and likes to smoke a pipe while listening to classical music, and to Syrian singers such as Mohamed Dia al-Din.