Day 52 15 October 2010 Friday
Day 53 16 October 2010 Saturday
Day 54 17 October 2010 Sunday
In 1980 an Italian priest, father Paulo Dall‘ Oglio, resurrected an abandoned 1000 year old monetary in the mountains north of Damascus. Anyone (travelers/pilgrims) can come to Dier Mar Musa and visit or stay as long as they would like. We chose to take 3 nights to relax while washing dishes, cleaning rooms, and taking walks in the surrounding desert mountains. The monastery buildings are built on the hillside following the natural contours. The fortified church contains three distinct layers of frescos from different periods of worship. The site also contains a cheese making facility, a well stocked 3 story library, a newer building able to house large parties on retreat, plus many other smaller buildings in need of some sprucing up. Visitors arrive by taxi or tour bus and hike the last 2.5 km up to the monastery.
We helped in the kitchen, cleaned a few rooms and helped the goat farmer that supplies the monastery with milk that is made into yogurt and cheese. And went for a few walks in the mountains.
After leaving Mar Musa on Sunday we spent one more night in Damascus to catch up on a few things we missed the first time. While we were trying to catch a service minibus a business man stopped in his car to ask us if we needed help. We said “No, we are just trying to get to the center of town. Do you know if a the bus stops here?” He offered us a free ride, which we accepted, he turned out to be a Palestinian who works for the Syrian government in the trade and commerce department. This is just one of the many instances in which a Syrian has gone out of his way to help us. But one thing we found interesting is that when we stated we had just returned from Mar Musa his eyes lit up and he asked if we had seen Father Paulo. After dropping us off right were we wanted to be he insisted on giving us his name and phone number, and told us to call if we had any problems.
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