Religions Thrive in a Troubled Land
Syria may be a hotbed of discontent these days, but an hour’s drive to the northwest of Damascus, a surprising peace has reigned for centuries.
To get to the shrine of St. Takla at Malula, you walk through a steep gorge just an arms’ width in places, whose walls tower above, grudgingly admitting a sliver of daylight. Legend says God parted these rocks to help a young Christian woman of beauty and virtue escape from a pagan rapist. The cave where Takla sheltered almost 2,000 years ago nestles in the cliffs above a Greek Orthodox convent where Orthodox nuns in black habits and veils scurry silently between St.… Seguir leyendo »