Let's Head Back to the Middle East for a Moment

During one of our team meetings before we left on the trip, we were playing a game where we could ask each other questions - sort of a get-to-know-you excercise. Someone asked "Where do you go to find peace?" as their question. I didn't have to answer this one, which is a good thing because I really didn't have an answer. The best I could do was hope that someday I had a cabin or something where I could go to rest and be away from the world. However, having traveled all around Syria, I now have a different answer.

During one of our last days in Syria, we went to a place called Mar Mousa, which means St. Moses in Arabic. It was a 2,000 year-old monestary high in the northern dessert hills that we had to climb 200 or so stone steps up a mountain to get to. Once up there, we rested in a chapel decorated with beautiful old frescos. Silence was observed in the chapel except for a Christian man sing songs in Arabic. The only Arabic I'd ever heard before that was angry, yelling Arabic. This was complete different and very soothing. They didn't use much electricity, so we sat by candle-light on comfy cushions on the floor. The incence was burning and outside the we could see a millions stars in the sky. It was absolutely wonderful.

We hadn't had much time to rest or process our thoughts while in Syria as our schedule was very tightly packed with things to do and places to see. This place was all about peace and rest, and I know I'll miss it in the future when my life get's stressful.

I took some video of the chapel during the day when we could see the frescos better: