After contemplating what to do for our last day–either resting or taking one last journey–we decided to hire a driver and head to the Maaloula and Mar Musa monasteries north of Damascus. It was a great decision because the driver kept us entertained with his non-stop stories on history and politics of the Middle East and both sites turned out to be excellent. We were told that Maaloula is the only place in the world that still speaks Aramaic–the language of Jesus. I have embedded a YouTube video from the English Al Jazeera website that includes an interview from the Father Tawfic from the Convent of St. Serge and Bacchus in Maaloula discussing the use of Aramaic in Maaloula (Father Tawfic served us a small glass of wine while we visited the monastery). We were lucky enough to hear the Lords Prayer recited in Aramaic by one of the convent guides. We also visited the Maaloula monastery of St. Takla. Here are a few pictures from both sites. I still want to post a detailed description of the middle few days of our trip as well as my feelings concerning Syria’s current troubles.
There is also another really good YouTube video on Maaloula that I couldn’t embed—you can view it at http://youtu.be/Iy38UQ9EQ6o
Derek at the St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula
St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula
St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula
St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula
Mar Musa Monastery
Mar Musa Monastery
Gift shop at the bottom of the steps leading to the Mar Musa Monastery
Walking the steps leading up to the Mar Musa monastery
