once again my travel pace is outrunning my blogging. i'm back in syria now. i actually crossed back yesterday morning, just after visiting baalbek in the baqaa' valley. baalbek is a weird contradictory town. it's an ancient town, originally dedicated to baal and became the center of all the stuff people like to accuse pagans of doing. you know, sexual debauchery and stuff. not surprisingly, it resisted christianity for longer than most roman towns.
these days the fantastic archeological site attracts tourists and artists from all over the world. at the same time, the baqaa valley is a fairly conservative place, the stronghold of hezbollah. it's quite a contradiction. hezbollah flags fly on each pole along the town's main boulevard, and hezbollah t-shirts are sold next to postcards and cheesy crafts for the tourists. militant clerics in their black robes and turbans walk by gawking tourists in shorts.
anyway, i bused in to baalbek yesterday morning from beirut, toured the ruins and wandered the town, then made my way back to damascus by the afternoon. damascus felt oddly familiar when i pulled into town. i've gotten so used to arriving in a place and then trying to make sense of it as i navigate to my hotel. when the cross-border taxi dropped me off, i knew exactly where to go.
today was christianity day. my hotel was running a tour to various christian sites north of damascus. i was considering going, but i found a fellow traveler in my hotel who wanted to do it on the cheap, so together we set out to do the tour on our own via local transit.
we took the bus to a dusty town called an-nabk and then hitched a ride to mar musa, a remote christian monastery built into the side of a gorge. after we climbed the long stairs up the side of the mountain under the desert sun, we discovered a strange voluntary community, made up of monks, nuns, european backpackers, and syrians who were considering the monastic life. the monastery is kind of unusual. not only does it house both nuns and monks, but it also includes both catholic and syrian orthodox clergy. anyone who shows up can stay there for free, provided that they work, helping prepare the food and clean.
but we didn't stay the night. after climbing back down the mountain, we took a bus along the highway back to damascus and got dropped off at the maalula exit. from there we hitchhiked into maalula, a village built along the side of a gorge and filled with christian holy sites. maalula is also one of the few remaining places in the world where the residents speak aramaic--the language of jesus. after spending a couple of hours wandering through the gorges, we found a bus to take us back.
so now i'm tired. i've had it with christians. tomorrow, i go to bosra.
