I'm in a Hama tonight. Last night in Meshtayeh, no internet cafes were to be found. Its way out in the wilderness. Tonight as I was looking for an internet cafe in Hama, I went to one that I saw as we were walking through the city earlier. It was in the process of remodeling. One spoke a little English and walked me down the street and around the corner to another one! This is the kind of hospitality that the Syrian people show. Whatever the differences there are in our governments, the people of Syria are incredibly hospitable and giving. I continue to learn that each day.
Well, back to yesterday and Meshtayeh. We began in Damascus at the train station that is no train station. It was intended to be a station to take pilgrims to Mecca, but money ran short and the station was built with no train going to it. So go things in the middle east! After the train station we went to the National Museum in Damascus. It is purported to be one of the most important in the world. It certainly has some old artifacts. One is a small clay tablet with the 
world's first alphabet on it. We spent more time at each display with more instruction than I have ever had before in a museum. When we left, I was glad to be moving on, even if the museum housed some amazing things. After the museum we went to Maaloula (picture at left with some of our group) for lunch and to visit the convent of St. Serge and Bacchus, both Christian Martyrs. This is also in a town that still speaks Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke! A woman came in and prayed the Lord's prayer for us in Aramaic. It is very close to Hebrew, which I have been studying for two years but it was still incomprehensible (all the definite articles are at the end of words). After this we went to another convent of St. Takla. She also was a Christian martyr (If 
I'm remembering correctly). The story is told of many miraculous ways God saved her. One story tells of God opening a gorge in a mountain for her to pass through as she was being pursued by persecutors (Picture at left). We began walking up and ran into an unusual problem. It has been usually rainy in Syria. The gorge was impassable! So we had to turn around, as God did not open the mountain to us that day. The convent was beautiful (but in many such places we are unable to take pictures! I did take a picture just outside the convent and posted it below. You can see how the convent is built right into the mountain.). We ended the day at that Al Wadi Hotel (which looks like a castle).
world's first alphabet on it. We spent more time at each display with more instruction than I have ever had before in a museum. When we left, I was glad to be moving on, even if the museum housed some amazing things. After the museum we went to Maaloula (picture at left with some of our group) for lunch and to visit the convent of St. Serge and Bacchus, both Christian Martyrs. This is also in a town that still speaks Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke! A woman came in and prayed the Lord's prayer for us in Aramaic. It is very close to Hebrew, which I have been studying for two years but it was still incomprehensible (all the definite articles are at the end of words). After this we went to another convent of St. Takla. She also was a Christian martyr (If 
I'm remembering correctly). The story is told of many miraculous ways God saved her. One story tells of God opening a gorge in a mountain for her to pass through as she was being pursued by persecutors (Picture at left). We began walking up and ran into an unusual problem. It has been usually rainy in Syria. The gorge was impassable! So we had to turn around, as God did not open the mountain to us that day. The convent was beautiful (but in many such places we are unable to take pictures! I did take a picture just outside the convent and posted it below. You can see how the convent is built right into the mountain.). We ended the day at that Al Wadi Hotel (which looks like a castle).It was a long day out and about seeing the sights.
I've decided to post a different post for today. So read on...
Peace and grace,
Tom (From Hama, Syria) 
1 comment:
Wow! I am overwhelmed at the beauty of the architecture and the description you give of the miracles that took place. Thank you, once again, for a beautiful post! God bless!
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