Maalula/Damascus Christmas day

Merry Christmas!!!

Peace on earth and goodwill to all. Christmas morning and a 6am start. There was certainly a lot peace, not too mention quiet, in Damascus this morning. The streets were deserted. It was a crisp clear morning with the sun just beginning to break in the east as we left the house. Nat and Rach are very keen walkers. So we decided to walk down to Bab Touma - from where we were to get the bus to Maalula.

... Nat and Rach are marching on ahead of us in double quick-time. Marcus, Leah, and myself are ambling behind. I am still waking up and I have eggnog on my brain. It feels like it is seeping down behind my eyeballs, into my mouth, and hanging off of my larynx, reverberating along my epiglottis as I speak. Yes. I am hungover. The streets are quiet and peaceful. We are discussing how safe it feels to travel in a Muslim country. It really makes so much difference. Leah especially notices this being a woman and traveling alone. I am beginning to realise the key to this is the way religion is Incorporated into every day life. A mosque is usually found in the centre of every community. Most certainly at the centre of every Souq. People don't ignore their spiritual development, they live it. They breathe it. It is as natural a part of their lives as shopping, eating, socialising. I can see more and more why many Imams and clerics are more than a little hesitant and have such misgivings towards the integration of our western culture in Muslim countries. One hundred years ago many places in England, Ireland, the US, still would have treated our modern, hedonistic, culture in the same way. On reflection, some places still do. Here in the west we have only recently embraced a secular way of life, and although it gives us much greater perceived emancipation, it leaves many people with a huge spiritual gap in their lives; the balance is rarely struck well. We are discussing this as we saunter down Shia Bakistan. Nat and Rach are rapidly becoming small ants in the distance. Leah and Marcus stop to take a picture of a mosque framed against the moon...

We took a bus north from Damascus into the mountains to Maalula. It was a lovely drive, but I was dozing for most of it. There was quite an eclectic mix of people from all walks of life on the bus, today, all with intention to visit a Greek Catholic St Sergius Monastery for Christmas mass spoken in Aramaic. Maalula means entrance in Arabic. You can understand why when you come in sight of the village nestled in the sides of a sheer rock gorge. It is very beautiful. It has a population of only around 2000 people. There are also steady streams of pilgrims from all over the world. that come to this place. It is predominately a Christian village, however people from all creeds come here to be blessed. There are two ancient places of worship here. Mar Sarkis and Mar Taqla. We had arranged to visit the mass in Mar Sarkis (St Sergius). The church (and monastery) itself was a very quaint and very old building. The entrance to the chapel was the height of a small child so you had to bend over double to get in [we later found the reason for this is two-fold: firstly to ensure it is a penitent man who enters the church, and second to stop large amounts of crowds/soldiers entering the church at the same time]. We arrived just as the mass was starting. It was a beautiful service and, for almost the entirety of it, it was sung in Arabic. [unfortunately the priest who gave the Aramaic service was away on holiday!!]. It was a great way to start Christmas morning and the parishioners and the priest were very welcoming to the throng of strangers that had descended on the church for the day.

... we are standing chatting to one of the parishioners, a very serene and very beautiful Syrian girl. She is giving us a tour of the Chapel. There are some amazing Iconic representations on the walls that are very different to standard Christian art. Each picture is emboldened with gold. There is a last supper depiction with Jesus on the left of the table, and all his disciples on the right. He is washing one of their feet. There are depictions of St George, and St Sergius. The girl explains that all iconic representation use the same face and expression. She takes us into the Tabernacle area, and we crowd around the alter. I notice it is a funny shape - a semi-circle rather than a rectangle. She explains that the Church was built on an older pagan place of worship. The original alter was used in the new Christian place of worship. Practicalities! We then finish the tour and she bids us all to be seated in the chapel once more, as she recites for us the Lord's prayer in Aramaic...

We enjoyed a very uplifting ceremony and were very warmly welcomed. The priest translated some of the liturgy readings for us into English and also the essence of the sermon. Afterwards we were given a tour of the Church by one of the parishioners. She then recited the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic for us. It was quite sublime.

We came out of the Church to find a souvenir shop in the grounds of the monastery. We were told inside about this and promised a free thimble of local Maalulan wine - pretty shrewd marketing I thought: ply them with booze and then sell sell sell! Upon entering the shop we were, as promised, given a free cup of wine. Then as if by magic the shop-keeper (aka the priest) appeared and proceeded to pitch his wares. It was all good fun and we each bought some trinkets.

From here we explored the canyon and gorge south of the village. It was reminiscent of the Al Siq in Petra. A natural cleft in the rock caused by an Earthquake [and one woven into a local legend. It actually lends its name to the second monastery: Mar Taqla - St Taqla. She was a daughter of a Seleucid princess. She was also a pupil of St Paul. She was being pursued by her father's troops (a little odd this I though) for her faith. She ran into the mountains and prayed to God to grant her safe passage, and lo the mountain split asunder granting her means of escape].

From here we nipped back into town to get the bus. Rachel and I picked up a whole bunch of Lafa bread from a local guy, I think he was a Druze, who we took our picture with and then promised him we'd send him a copy of them. He made some damn good bread. Before getting on the bus Marcus, Leah, and I also managed to pick up some local Maalulan wine for later on.

... I am in Rachel's kitchen and I am cooking with Marcus. Rach and Nat are also both cooking. Afterward Rach will maintain that we cooked, but as always, everyone pitches in and does an equal share. This is what cooking is all about: Preperation, coordination, timing. The fun part is orchestrating it all. I rarely get bogged down with recipes and measures. They are usually just guidelines. Once you get the gist of the dish you can cook it in any variation you wish. When you cook for a dinner party the main thing to do is get the timing right. To know when to start which dish and be aware of space available in the oven and suchlike. Marcus is making pan fried tomatoes with pine nuts and garlic. We have already done the chicken casserole, the pan-fried chicken breast with potato slices and veg, roasted in sauce. The potato salad is also done. We've cheated and bought fresh moutable and hummus. We also made yoghurt garlic, and mint dip and Nat made a fantastic dahl the night before. I am currently trying to make stuffed aubergines with halloumi cheese as a vegetarian main. I am trying to scoop out the aubergine and add in the onions, pine-nuts, garlic, spinach, and peppers I have pan-fried. Everyone has wine on the go. The kitchen is in complete disarray, but the food is starting to to churn out. The guests are also starting to arrive. Rach comes in from the shop with yet another last minute order for food we have run out of. I go to check take out the roast chicken and realise I have miscalculated by an hour, black smoke is billowing out of the oven...

We spent a fantastic Christmas day cooking, drinking, and making merry back at Rach's place. A whole bunch of friends came over, some of whom we knew, some we didn't. As usual there was more food than you could shake a stick at, and plenty more was brought along by guests including those delicious bailey's balls again and a equally delicious apple-crumble, cooked by Adele, (that I poured baileys all over as a custard substitute. Ohmygod! Try it sometime!). We sat around and chatted for most of the early evening, until the guests slowly disappeared home and we all lay stuffed on the sofas. I spoke to my family in the day and Merryl in the evening, thanking her for her lovely presents and then fell asleep, a happy man.