This story was produced by our colleagues at the BBC.

There’s an area in Istanbul that is known as Little Syria. It's in the Fatih district of the city and during the war in Syria this neighborhood became a home away from home for Syrians. But these days, this area is noticeably quieter.

Turkey officially hosted 3.8 million Syrian refugees, and their presence transformed parts of the country — especially in border towns and big cities where they boosted local economies. Now, these areas are changing once again. 

The owner of a once popular falafel shop — Mohammed Issam — told us he’s closing down this month. He first opened in 2014 after escaping the war.

“Our shop and the other shops in this street we can talk about a 50% drop,” he said.

Mohammed Issam was one of many Syrians we spoke to that said Turkey’s faltering economy was also driving their decision to return. 

Persistent inflation at around 35%, currency devaluation and high interest rates have left food and housing unaffordable for many, so some would rather take their chances in a war-torn country.

“It's obvious to everyone that the situation in Turkey is worsening in terms of economy, not only our sector, but also the tourism industry is getting worse, like many people are preferring to go to other countries,” said Issam. 

Turkey’s vice president, Cevdet Yılmaz, said that more than 273,000 Syrian refugees had voluntarily returned. And that figure is expected to increase significantly this summer. Some industries are already feeling the impact.

“Some companies lost 50% of their workforce,” said Turkish entrepreneur Hakan Bucak. He’s a former board director on the Turkish-Syrian business council. 

“Those sectors will have challenges finding their workforce. They need to turn back to Turkish workforce, especially textile, agriculture and construction, they need to reorganize their workforce strategy,” he said. 

The UN’s International Labor Organization says the situation is still evolving so it’s too early to tell what impact Syrians going home will have on the Turkish labor market. What is clear is that the hundreds of thousands of Syrians returning home will once again have a transformative effect on streets, neighborhoods like little in Syria in Istanbul and local economies across Turkey.