In the last post, I ended it with the visit to the Prophet Nahum's tomb, which was in an old and abandoned synagogue in Alqosh. From there we returned to the retreat center for dinner and rest.
This is a setting sun backlighting an outside wall of the retreat center.
The retreat center had a small chapel in the basement of the building. However, basement does not quite capture the essence of the chapel - it was more like a cave chapel.
From a balcony of the retreat center - looking north out over the village of Alqosh. How many satellite dishes can you count?
Looking east out over Alqosh with the Ninevah plain beyond the village limits. Note the standard rooftop water storage tanks.
Looking southeast over Alqosh, with the Ninevah plain beyond and the city of Mosul off in the distance, just over the horizon.
Another look of the rooftops of Alqosh. Alqosh is a fairly large village. Some of the villages that we would visit the following weekend near Zakho are not much more than a few farming families who dwell in close proximity to each other.
This is a zoom of the previous picture, focusing on a hilltop cemetary. There is also a wall around the cemetary. All of the cemetaries that I have seen in Iraq are situated on a hill or high spot in the landscape.
The next day we visited more monasteries and old churches. They are similar in design and structure as those that I have previously posted. The sense that one gets from visiting all of these ancient places is that there once was a time when the faith of the fathers was contagious and world changing. Incredible sacrifices were made to bring the Light of Christ into a hostile and inhospitable environment. I wonder if we have become too immersed in the times that we find ourselves, that we have forgotten what it might cost to "go and make disciples", to truly get so out of our comfort zones that we can no longer see them anymore. I wonder?
Your brother in Christ,
Joe
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