Syria's Mohammed Faris was a national hero after he became the country's first cosmonaut in 1987, traveling to the Soviet Union's Mir Space Station. Now he's a refugee in Istanbul, Turkey. Faris, 65, is shown standing in front of a painting of himself as a cosmonaut. A critic of Syria's President Bashar Assad, he still hopes to return to his homeland. (Peter Kenyon / NPR)
