Snow in the Desert

FROM ISSUE # 147 (March 2008) | IN THIS ISSUE
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Never did I associate snow with the desert but in Syria everything changed. Mostly sand and rocky hills, the temperature goes up to 40° here in the summer and is as low as 0° in the winter.

I was going to Maloula, a small historic town in Syria, nearly 56km north of the capital, Damascus. I took a bus this time to give my bicycle a break. An hour later I reached Maloula, which is surrounded by mountains and is predominantly a Christian town even though Syria is a Muslim country.

A picturesque town of around 2000 people, Maloula is full of monasteries, convents, churches, shrines and sanctuaries – some even as old as Mar Sarkis which was built in the 4th century. Mar Taqla is another important convent in the town. Some of them haven't withstood the test of time and lie in ruins while others continue to stand, defying age and time.

Both Muslim and Christian pilgrims come to Maloula every year and it felt good to be a Nepali pilgrim in this old town. While there, I felt as though Jesus was looking down on me. I prayed to him and started my walk to the top of the mountain. As I was walking it began to snow. Unprepared for the weather I continued to walk, covered in snow but it felt good.

On top of the mountain there was a café. I went in and ordered a milk coffee followed by a Syrian local beer called Barada. I like tasting local beers and collecting beer bottle caps. And in the past ten years of my journey I have collected more than 2000 beer bottle caps. Once it stopped snowing I started my little trek to Taqla monastery.

The little path to the monastery on the other mountain was as beautiful as the town. A little stream flowed along the path and I felt like I was walking through a postcard. The walk recharged me but once at Taqla it started to snow again and soon the entire place was covered with snow. This time children came out and were playing in the snow. It reminded me of my childhood in my village when we ate snow for fun despite being warned by our parents that our teeth would fall off. Here I didn't see any of that, perhaps because the children of Maloula had plenty of ice.     

The people of Maloula speak Aramaic, a Semitic language used since the 9th century and a language said to be spoken by Jesus. It was still snowing and it seemed it would continue till the next morning. I waited for a bus to take me back to Damascus. And as I waited, I wanted to bid Jesus goodbye in Aramaic, if only I knew how.

Pushcycle
Maloula, Syria

Journey started: 29 November 1998
Aim: To cycle around the world to spread the message of peace and hope within 11 years
Countries travelled till date: 117
Next Leg: East Europe