{"id":156,"date":"2011-04-23T08:09:15","date_gmt":"2011-04-23T12:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dinkel.us\/?p=156"},"modified":"2025-01-08T17:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T22:23:20","slug":"last-full-day-in-syria-maaloula-and-deir-mar-musa-monastary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/?p=156","title":{"rendered":"Last Full Day in Syria -Maaloula and Deir Mar Musa Monasteries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After contemplating what to do for our last day&#8211;either resting or taking one last journey&#8211;we decided to hire a driver and head to the Maaloula and Mar Musa monasteries north of Damascus.&nbsp; It was a great decision because the driver kept us entertained with his non-stop stories on history and politics of the Middle East and both sites turned out to be excellent.&nbsp; We were told that Maaloula is the only place in the world that still speaks Aramaic&#8211;the language of Jesus.&nbsp; I have embedded a YouTube video from the English Al Jazeera website that includes an interview from the Father Tawfic from the Convent of St. Serge and Bacchus in Maaloula discussing the use of Aramaic in Maaloula (Father Tawfic served us a small glass of wine while we visited the monastery).&nbsp; We were lucky enough to hear the Lords Prayer recited in Aramaic by one of the convent guides.&nbsp; We also visited the Maaloula monastery of St. Takla.&nbsp; Here are a few pictures from both sites.&nbsp; I still want to post a detailed description of the middle few days of our trip as well as my feelings concerning Syria&#8217;s current troubles.<\/p>\n<p>There is also another really good three-minute YouTube video on Maaloula&#8212;you can view it below:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JW6Q2wzCElU\" width=\"480\" height=\"390\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_157\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-157\" class=\"size-full wp-image-157   \" title=\"SYR_041911_1\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_1.jpg 480w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Derek at the St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_158\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-158\" class=\"size-full wp-image-158  \" title=\"SYR_041911_2\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_2.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-158\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_159\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-159\" class=\"size-full wp-image-159  \" title=\"SYR_041911_3\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_3.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_160\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-160\" class=\"size-full wp-image-160  \" title=\"SYR_041911_4\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_4.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_4-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-160\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">St. Takla Monastery in Maaloula<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_169\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-169\" class=\"size-full wp-image-169 \" title=\"SYR_041911_6\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_6.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_6-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-169\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar Musa Monastery<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_170\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_7.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-170\" class=\"size-full wp-image-170 \" title=\"SYR_041911_7\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_7.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_7-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-170\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar Musa Monastery<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_171\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-171\" class=\"size-full wp-image-171 \" title=\"SYR_041911_8\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_8.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/SYR_041911_8-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-171\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gift shop at the bottom of the steps leading to the Mar Musa Monastery<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_172\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0968.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-172\" class=\"size-full wp-image-172  \" title=\"IMG_0968\" src=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0968.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0968.jpg 640w, https:\/\/dinkel.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/IMG_0968-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-172\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Walking the steps leading up to the Mar Musa monastery<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After contemplating what to do for our last day&#8211;either resting or taking one last journey&#8211;we decided to hire a driver and head to the Maaloula and Mar Musa monasteries north of Damascus.&nbsp; It was a great decision because the driver &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/?p=156\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east","category-syria","category-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89267,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions\/89267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dinkel.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}