Blogs from South, Syria, Middle East - page 6

Hi Everyone. No Interent WiFi access so I cant transfer Image and notes frommy PC. This is just a quicktext note to give you a short update. We are in Damascus for 1 more night and then we drive to Palmyra tosee the Roman Ruins and complex,we will camp somewhere near Palmyra. Following that we have 2 nights in Allepoand hopefully I will be able to updatethe Blog then. Cheers and Kisses from David T... read more

Retour au Paradis des rencontres Dès l'arrivée de Cécile, nouveau membre de notre équipe (courageuse!), et après un passage festif dans la famille de Louay à Maaloula, nous filons sur les routes syriennes, toujours aussi hospitalières aux auto-stoppeurs, vers notre bien aimé monastère Mar Moussa el Habashi. Nous connaissons bien l'ambiance de cet oasis de paix entre ciel et terre où se retrouvent des hommes et des femmes de bonne volonté issus de toute religions, confessions et spiritualités pour apprendre à se connaître et à s'aimer. Nous y retrouvons des vieilles connaissances (Nasser, Samir, Khalil, Usaam, Nathalie, Raphael, Dina ... et la communauté el'Khalil) et nous découvrons de nouveaux visages, de nouveaux parcours : nos futures "vieilles connaissances"! Dimitri, diacre melkite étudiant dans une université islamique, Sabrina, franco-algerienne musulmane poursuivant s... read more

When we were preparing for our Middle East adventure, we read, researched and studied the history, politics and basics of each country. We had meetings to develop our itinerary and discussions to finalize our list of things to do while we were in each region. During those heated moments we also discussed what we might shop for or bring home as gifts. One of the most exciting things we discussed was Kyle's plan to get a tailor-made suit in Damascus, Syria. Apparently, the Damascus silk and the Syrian tailors are known world-wide. (News to dad and me!) A fitted suit was at the top of Kyle's list. Dad even thought he might get one because of the novelty. I thought this was a good opportunity to keep them busy while I wandered the old market! A ... read more

We had no idea what to expect when we crossed the border from Jordan to Syria. The process began with paperwork in Jordan where we paid an exit tax. Our driver had to show a great deal of paperwork to get his car out of Jordan--a process we did not understand and of which were not a part. Then we drove out of Jordan through a shower that "cleansed" our car of any germs that we might be bringing from Jordan. We are sure the 1/2 gallon of water completl cleansed our car of whatever Jordan germs our car was carrying. We drove briefly through no-man's-land into the Syrian checkpoint. We were a bit taken aback at the rag-tag checkpoint. The building had 50 year old ceiling fans that looked like they were going to fall ... read more

Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, a young Jewish fundamentalist was heading up to Damascus to kill other Jews for not believing in their God in the right way. Everybody needs a hobby. While on the way there, he was suddenly struck blind by a bright light from God himself and heard a voice telling him that he had it all wrong. He was so impressed by this that when he got his sight back he immediately changed his name by one letter, to “Paul” (as in “St Paul”) and began to travel the known world preaching the Christian message of intolerance and self-loathing. This is where we today get the phrase “A road to Damascus experience”. Thankfully nothing like this happened to me on the road to Damascus when I went ... read more