His Holliness Mor Ignatius Zakka I, Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
We met His Holliness at the monastry of st. Ephrem in Saidnaya near Damascus. His Holliness was willing to see us in a very short notice. We gave a short introduction of the purpose and hope of Amen Ethiopia. His Holliness welcomed us very warmly,he said that he visited Ethiopia at the time of King Haile Silassie and repeatedly said: 'we love Ethiopia' which was very heart warming for us.He also said that Ethiopia and Syria share a special historical tie in that monks from Syria went to Ethiopia to preach the word of God in the earlier days of Christianity. He said our visit to Syria will strengthen the relationship between Ethiopia and Syria.
Friends among strangers:
We met this very special family at the bottom of the hill at the monastry in Syria. They asked who we were and we told them about Amen Ethiopia's pilgrimage. They immediately invited us for tea at their house which was not far from the monastry. I must say that we were touched and speechless by their kindness. Who would invite 14 strangers to their family home which was very fancy too, at this time in the world? On top of the drinks and sweets, they gave us gifts of candles, family pictures and the Qu'ran with their blessings and well wishes for our journey and peace for Ethiopia too.
Mozes monastery Nabek near Damascus.
A short visit to Father Paulo and Deir Mar Musa Al-Habashi in Nabek
We visited a monastry known by the name of a martyr called moses the Ethiopian. It is located in Nabek 300 steps up the hill in a land basically dominated by muslims. The place is highly respected and regarded as holy even by the muslims. 11 monks including Father Paulo live there, all from different christian denominations, praying and working for intereligious and ecumenical dialogue especially to promote mutual understanding and respect between the muslims and Christians in the middle east.
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