Home Sweet Home

After a 4 day weekend away from Damascus, it felt really nice to return to a familiar area. Though its not my real home, its probably the most homey place I will find this semester. After the next 2 weeks here in Damascus we move around a lot, not staying in one place for more than 2 weeks. So for now, I am enjoying a sense of familiarity and comfort that I am blessed to find half way around the world from my first home.

This weekend in Lebanon was short and sweet. We stayed at Hotel Mozart in Beirut. A mere 5 minute walk from the Mediterranean Sea. After the smoke, smog, and exhaust fumes in the Damascus air, being near the sea was a welcome change. Feeling the wind off the sea blowing my hair and breathing in the slightly salty smell was so wonderful. I look forward to when I get to return to the shores of the Mediterranean.

Last Thursday we departed Syria and headed for Lebanon, we crossed the border without any trouble and made it to Beirut in about 2 hours total. After settling in to my new room we had the rest of the day free to wander about and buy lunch. My friend Darian and I walked about 4.5 hours that day. Downtown Beirut is a lot more spread out than here in Damascus, so we didn't really know what we were getting into. Though my feet were sore by the end of it, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the broader city than what just surrounds us. Beirut has some very beautiful buildings and the architecture is astounding. Many of the buildings are newly restored in the last 15 years or so. After the civil war that Lebanon had years ago, much of the city was bombed and destroyed. It was interesting to see beautiful, grand new hotels standing only a few yards from an old, decrepit, bombed and burned hotel. They are doing a lot of construction and renovation trying to restore Beirut to its former beauty, and I must say, they are doing a really great job.

Friday we toured Byblos, another coastal city where there are amazing ruins. Also a fun fact, Byblos is where the name of our holy book, the Bible, comes from. I forget why, by the tour guide told us. She also put so much other information into our heads most of it didn't stick for very long. Anyway, the ruins were beatiful, and right by the Mediterranean. The people that once lived there were very lucky.


Saturday we took a very long 2 hour bus ride through a valley and up and around some very steep mountains. We drove up to a ski resort and played in the snow and battled our leader Linford in a snowball fight. After about 15 minutes we were all happily wet and cold so we headed down the mountain a little ways. There we reached the Lebanon Cedar groves. These cedars only grow at a height of 1500 meters. They are huge trees and some are thousands of years old. One of the trees would take about 12 people to wrap arms all the way around. It was so crazy. Also the other neat thing about these Cedars, they were mentioned in the Bible. These are the Cedars that Solomon receives from a king whose name I don't remember. Anyway, Solomon uses the wood of the Cedars to build the temple in Jerusalem. That means they had to cut down these huge trees, somehow get them down 1500 meters of mountain to the coast, ship them down the sea to Israel, and then transport the trees up another mountain to where Jerusalem is located. Its amazing to think about.


Sunday we headed back to Syria and along the way we detoured to another ruins site of Baalbek. Baalbek was a pagan temple, with sections of worship for Jupiter and Venus. The ruins were amazing though. I can't even believe what it would have looked like in its prime. They had pillars reaching so high above my head. Twenty of me on top of each other probably wouldn't have been enough to reach the top. These ruins are one of the oldest and most well preserved temples in the world. It was such a blessing to be able to see it. Though it did rain all day long, so my pictures are kind of dreary. But in the last half hour or so the sun started peeking through. I didn't catch a rainbow at Baalbek but before we reached Damascus I saw 5 different rainbows. It was spectacular.
Now I am back in Damascus, with only 2 weeks left. I can't believe how fast time passes.

~Allison

One Week Down

It seems like a whole lot longer that just one week that has gone by since I left the states. I have experienced so much, and learned a lot more. Today is our day of rest, though most of Damascus is up and at em, since the Muslim holy day is on Friday. The usual busy packed streets and markets were almost ghostly empty on Friday. It’s a completely different life style here than what I’m used to in the States. Almost all of the Muslims take off on Friday and go to the mosque or stay at home at pray. Very few open their shops. I was very impressed by their dedication to their faith.

This week we had five days of language classes, and after each one I spent time in the Old City of Damascus. I bought food on the streets, window shopped for bargains, and was welcomed by many. On Friday, our assignment was to go into the Omyad Mosque in the Old City and observe the prayer time on their holy day. It was a pretty amazing experience. There were still a lot of children running around everywhere, but watching the people gather together and pray was inspiring. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but it didn’t matter. I also managed to communicate with a few different people in my limited Arabic ability. I even got to hold two different children, while trying to communicate with an older woman and then another family. The people here are so warm and welcoming, even though we don’t speak the same language. It only makes me want to learn more, faster so I can communicate with the people better.

Then yesterday our group decided to spend our day climbing up Mt. Cassion. One of the stories about this mountain is that on it Cain killed Abel. I don’t know if that is true or not, but it doesn’t really matter to me. The hike was worth it. We mostly just walked along side a road all the way up, because it wasn’t a good mountain to go off roading on. The view was absolutely astounding. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. I didn’t know Damascus was so big, and I could see for miles and miles beyond Damascus. Though we would’ve been able to see farther, but there was haze from the city the clouded the view.

That about does it for now. On Thursday we will take a long weekend trip to Lebanon, I probably won’t post again until after that. I welcome your comments, emails, and prayers. Thanks for following and supporting me on this journey.

Salaam wa lekum (peace upon you)
~Allison

Finally in Syria

Wow, I can't believe I am finally here. It still seems so surreal although everything around me is so alive and very REAL. Let me back up and I will tell you about what I have been through since
I left the US just a few short days ago.

Friday at 5:45 our plane departed and everything went very smoothly. It was the longest flight I have ever taken, but I really enjoyed it. The view of Washington DC lights at night from the air was unlike anything I had ever seen. So beautiful. Seeing the sunrise from the airplane was also really cool. We landed in Vienna, and had about an hour layover. The next flight was only 4 hours from Vienna to Amman, Jordan. I slept almost the entire way. I did not even wake up when the food arrived and was placed in front of me, when the leader Janet shook me so I could eat, or when she called my name several times. By this time it was Saturday afternoon.

When we arrived in Jordan, the reality began to sink in a little. I could tell I was in another country, but still haven't wrapped my mind around the fact that I will live in these countries for 3 months. We got settled into our hotel, and explored the neighborhood a little. We didn't see much of Amman this time around, but we will return later in our travels and see much much more.

We left Amman early Sunday morning and headed to Syria. We sat at the Syrian border for almost two hours because the Syrian border police were being difficult, but eventually they let us continue on our way.A Syrian tour guide joined us then, and took us to Bosra. It is a city in Syria where there are ancient ruins dating back to the 2nd century. Almost everything was made with Basalt rock, I think is what they called it. Basalt is a very dark rock and very difficult to carve into. It creates very beautiful dark buildings and the Syrians were able to make beautiful intricate patterns into the rock. We got to look around the amphitheater, which is one of the most well preserved amphitheaters in the world. It was such a view. Everything in the ruins of Bosra was amazing. I can only imagine what this city looked like in its prime.


The top picture is a view of the amphitheater from the top. The second, a view from the bottom, and the third a picture of the ruins of the other parts of town.

We finally reached Damascus around 3 yesterday, we got settled into our rooms in the monastery dormitories. These rooms are way nicer than I expected. We have a private bath and shower, a television with Arabic cable channels, and a door to an outside patio. We ate dinner last night around 8 since that is the common time for Syrians to eat, if not earlier than normal. I am going to have to get used to having hard boiled eggs, goat cheese, olives, and pita alot. Since we had that for supper last night and for breakfast this morning.

At 8 this morning we set off towards Bab Sharqi (Bob Sharkey) one of the gates to the Old City of Damascus to catch the bus. It is about a ten minute walk to the Old City. The bus took us to where we will be taking language classes, called Berlitz. Their methodology for teaching is Immersion. They toss us into a classroom with our teacher and they only allow Arabic to be spoken in the room. They teach us by repetition and pointing. It is quite interesting. I can repeat things fairly well, but I probably only remember half of what we learned today. It is a very difficult language to learn. I can introduce myself "Es mi Allison" -- my name is Allison. I also remember the colors red and blue. "ahh-mar" and "ezrah". Not sure what I can do with this information. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive.

We got to wander around the Old City after we were finished with our language class. It is quite a magnificent place, and I can't wait to see more of it.

I love you. I miss you.

Its Almost Time

Today is my last full day in the United States. Tomorrow my group and I will depart from the circle parking lot outside Lehman Auditorium at 12:30. Right now I'm feeling about every emotion possible for this situation. I'm excited to go to the Middle East and have some great experiences. I'm scared to leave my family and friends for such a long time. I'm nervous to enter into a new culture and try to understand it. I'm anticipating seeing all the historical Biblical sites. It is all just very surreal right now. I'm not really ready to believe that I will be leaving the country and going somewhere that I've always dreamed of going.

This week has been full of information and tips on how to travel and act in different cultures. I just hope I can remember everything. I'm sure I won't, but I know I will still have a great experience. By this time on Sunday I will be settled into Saint Elias Monastery in Damascus. I will have internet access while in Syria so look for my next post sometime next week.

Please keep me and my group in your prayers tomorrow and Saturday as we fly from Dulles Airport to Vienna, and then on to Amman, Jordan.

Feel free to leave comments or send me emails at allison.bontrager@emu.edu. I would love to hear from you or answer any questions you may have about my travels.

I love you all and know that I will miss you.

Orientation

Today was the first day of orientation. We all met at 9:30, and got bombarded with information and handouts, and other things we need to take along. Our leaders are Linford and Janet Stutzman, they are funny and rather scatterbrained. It is sometimes very difficult to follow what they are talking about because they jump around so much.

This week is going to be filled with a lot more orientation and too many goodbyes. But I know the months that follow will all be well worth it. Check back later this week for my last post in the United States.

- السلام - Salaam - Peace -

قريبا‎ - soon

The title above speaks the truth. Soon. My departure is approaching quickly now with only 4 days left in Iowa and only 9 days left in the United States. I can't believe how fast time has passed. I still have so much left to do before feeling a little prepared for this trip. Packing, shopping, writing, reading, seeing people, saying goodbye, and then more packing. Right now I strongly side with the cliche: "so much to do, so little time." Please remember me in your prayers in the coming days, I know I will need them.