Syria

Our time in Syria went by so fast.

We spent the first day in Hama after an exhausting day of traveling. The next day we went to the krak des chevaliers, one of the last few standing Crusader castles. It was awesome! I felt like a little boy in a dream as I was running around and exploring the place. There were even times of sneaking through corridors, tunnels and secret places to spy.

Then we had one of the best lunches ever with savory delicious garlic chicken.

Then we went to a town of some of the last people to speak Aramaic. We saw the church of St. Tecla in the mountains. I got a swig of holy water, saw some old icons, and even met with a head priest who prayed the Lord's prayer in Aramaic for us.



Then it was off to Damascus. We stayed in a monastery close to the city wall of old Damascus. It was so beautiful. We got to take a tour of the church of St. Ananias, where there are still ruins of where he was and where Paul was. There was plenty of shopping and delicious food (seriously, every meal was SO good). We got to particpate in a Turkish bath a.k.a. getting scrubbed down by a fat hairy Turkish man but feeling so good afterward. We got to met MESP alums who were working in the area, that was my favorite night because it was a talk on the future, we got to hear their heart on everything. Then a few of us went on the roof and saw all of Damascus. My heart was so happy.

The place was beautiful.