We visited two. Deir ez Zafferan and Mar Gabriel. They are completely restored and look new, though they were build in fifth century. The restorations are paid by Suriani diaspora, mainly living in Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Along with money the diaspora also sends their sons to attend classes in Aramaic liturgy, to help monks harvest pistachio trees, and to explain visitors that accepting Turks to EU would be a suicide.
One of the boys took us to a sanctuary hidden behind a small chapel. It was where Mar Gabriel, a great ascetic, punished his flesh to liberate his soul and to get closer to God. I tried it out. It is a narrow slit in the wall, where he would spend months standing up. As in From the Holy Mountain: ˝Mar Gabriel used to say no slave should sit or lie down in the presence of his master, and that as he was always in the presence of his Lord he should always stand up.˝ After the claustrophobic sightseeing the parish invited us for lunch and to camp in their gardens. Eating cold spaghetti in a Suriani monastery was an interesting travel experience.
2 comments:
Great scenery & interestening postings, as always.
But don't you guys ever argue about what you experience, or at least interpret it differently? That would even more interesting to read about!
... but then again, as the wise & bearded old man once said to his camel: "truly, love makes us see the world through the eyes of our beloved"...
I'll see you in 12 days in Damascus, inshallah.
Dear cousin. You're right of course about the different interpretations but the posting is always signed by me or P. He writes more about facts and history and, I think, I write more my opinions and feelings. At this visit İ felt intimidated by the bishop on the photo, Peter thought him a funny character. After leaving İran İ felt truly relieved - something that might be hard for P to understand, as a woman I had a very different experience. İ keep some more personal writing of the trip aswell, but I think there might be no benefit in publishing it on the blog. Thanks for comment! See you soon indeed.
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