Sedeyna, Ma'alula, and Palmyra

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Yesterday was a very, very long but very, very fun day. My morning started at 5:30am when I got up and packed for the long day ahead. I headed out the door at about 6am and met some friends and we took a cab to the university. The bus pulled out of the parking lot at about 7am and headed for Sedeyna. Sedeyna is a town outside of Damascus with a beautiufl church and I forget the story but there was a miracle that happened there. I believe. After that we headed for nearby Ma'alula. Ma'alula is one of the only remaining towns that still speaks the language of Jesus Christ, Aramaic. It was very pretty and I took some nice pictures. The language was interesting to hear and I got an audio recording of a prayer but it is a little hard to hear.

After these two churches we started out for Palmyra which is about 3 1/2 hours from Damascus and about 3 hours from Ma'alula. On the way there we stopped at the Baghdad 66 Cafe about halfway there for a rest stop and to get refreshments. A little farther we stopped and took pictures of the signs to Baghdad and to Iraq. Sometimes it scary to think it's that close. After that we continued on towards Palmyra. We got there early afternoon and had a nice big meal in the heat of the afternoon before setting out to explore the ruins. The old city was very nice but I honestly think, ruins wise, I liked Bosra better. We visited the Valley of the Tombs and an old temple and got to walk to main colonnade. It was all very fascinating. We then went to the castle overlooking the city and watched the sunset over the nearby mountains. It was quite an experience. Also, I forgot to mention that we had a guide and a very nice tour bus all day so that made the experience very pleasant.

We got back on the road at about 7:45pm and headed for home. We stopped again at the same cafe and I saw the most incredible sight I think I have ever seen. I walked about 50 yards away into the desert and laid down and I could see every start imaginable. It was nothing like in America at all. I could see everything sooooo clearly, I even could see the Milky Way. It was just like those pictures of space that you see taken by telescopes. Crystal clear but then there was the Milky Way all cloudy and awesome. It was very very cool. After a short stop we all climbed back into the bus and continued home. Exhausted we arrived back home around 11:30. Some of the girls wanted to go to the internet cafe so I went with them so I could walk them home. I got to talk to my sister-in-law and my brother online for a few minutes and that was a pleasant surprise. After that I walked everyone home and crashed. Enjoy the pictures!

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