Historic Syrian monastery reopens to visitors after years of war

Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi was a centre of interfaith dialogue before Syria's civil war

A nun sits in contemplation at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi (St Moses the Ethiopian monastery), an ancient monastery in Syria in the mountains of the Damascus countryside. The desert monastery, that was once a hub for interfaith dialogue, attracting tens of thousands, has reopened to visitors after more than a decade of war and isolation. All photos by AFP

A view of Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

People walk down a stairway at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A view of Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A view of Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

People walk down a stairway at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Father Jihad Youssef sits in prayer and contemplation at the monastery.

Monks and nuns sit in prayer and contemplation at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A view of Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Father Jihad Youssef at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Monk Youssef Al Halabi sits in prayer and contemplation at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Father Jihad Youssef at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Monk Youssef Al Halabi makes candles at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A picture shows a view of Deir Mar Moussa Al-Habashi (St Moses the Ethiopian monastery), one of the ancient monasteries in Syria in the mountains near the desert in the Nabek area in Damascus countryside, on June 11, 2022. - A Syrian desert monastery that was once a hub for interfaith dialogue, attracting tens of thousands, has reopened to visitors after more than a decade of war and isolation. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

A view of the monastery.

Monks and nuns sit in prayer and contemplation at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

Monks and nuns sit in prayer and contemplation at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A picture shows Father Jihad Youssef at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

People walk on a bridge at Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi.

A Syrian desert monastery that was once a hub for interfaith dialogue, attracting tens of thousands, has reopened to visitors after more than a decade of war and isolation.

"We yearn for people to return. We want to see them pray and meditate with us once more, so that they may find here a space for calm, silence and contemplation," said Father Jihad Youssef, his voice echoing through the dark, empty halls of the monastery he heads.

In 2010, 30,000 people visited Deir Mar Moussa Al Habashi (St Moses the Ethiopian), a 7th-century monastery perched on top of a barren, rocky hill about 100 kilometres north of the capital, Damascus.

But the onset of civil war in 2011 and the disappearance of Fr Paolo Dall'Oglio, who had led and revived the community since 1982, scared away visitors for nearly a decade.

With security having improved in surrounding areas, the monastery reopened its doors to visitors this month.

They must climb 300 steps to reach the stone building, built on the ruins of a Roman tower and partly carved into the rock.

It has an 11th-century church adorned with icons, ancient murals and writing in Arabic, Syriac and Greek that says "God is love" and "in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful" — a phrase used by Muslims in praise of God.

Dall'Oglio hosted interfaith seminars at the monastery, where the Christian minority and Muslims used to pray side by side, turning it into a symbol of coexistence that attracted visitors and worshippers for three decades.

The Italian Jesuit priest was expelled from Syria in 2012 for supporting a mass anti-government uprising, but returned a year later.

He disappeared in the summer of 2013, on his way to the headquarters of the group that later became known as ISIS in the city of Raqqa, where he had gone to plead for the release of kidnapped activists.

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces watch as rounds light up Baghouz. All photos: AP

Displaced Syrian children slide down a hill, above a refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.

Men trudge to be screened after being led from the last territory held by ISIS militants, near Baghouz.

A man rides his bicycle through rubble in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, Damascus.

Turkish troops take control of Bursayah hill, which separates the Kurdish-held enclave of Afrin from the Turkey-controlled town of Azaz.

Syrian Civil Defence workers and citizens gather after an air strike hit a market in Maaret Al Numan in southern Idlib.

Syrians watch a US armoured convoy pass on a road to Raqqa.

An army soldier places a Syrian national flag during a battle with rebel fighters at the Ramouseh front line, east of Aleppo.

Civilians look for their belongings after clashes between opposition fighters and Syrian soldiers loyal to President Bashar Al Assad, in Hejeira, near Damascus.

Kurdish opposition fighters occupy a tank stolen from the Syrian Army, in Fafeen village, north of Aleppo.

The Beloved of Allah militia head towards the scene of the battle with government forces on the outskirts of Aleppo.

People burn portraits of Assad during a demonstration on the outskirts of Idlib.

Dall'Oglio's practice of inter-religious coexistence was the exact opposite of the intolerant, murderous extremism of ISIS.

He was reported to have been executed and his body dumped in a crevice soon after his capture, but his death was never confirmed.

Fr Youssef said ISIS "most likely kidnapped him", although no one had contacted the monastery to demand ransom. "We do not know for sure whether he is alive or dead," he said.

In 2015, the monastery came under ISIS gunfire after the extremists began two years of control in the nearby Homs countryside.

"We were scared we would be kidnapped or killed at any moment", especially after ISIS reached the nearby village of Al Qaryatain and kidnapped groups of Christians there, Fr Youssef said.

ISIS abducted the monastery's former chief, Jacques Mourad, from Al Qaryatain for several months in 2015.

The group razed a monastery in the nearby village and locked hundreds of Christians in a dungeon. They were later freed, but a Christian community which once numbered hundreds in Al Qaryatain has now fallen to fewer than two dozen.

"We experienced all kinds of fear," Fr Youssef said. He added that they felt isolated in the desert monastery at the height of the fighting, and later because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

US-backed local forces defeated ISIS in eastern Syria three years ago, while Syrian government troops, supported by Russia and Iran-linked forces, have recaptured much territory from rebels.

"This is a simple monastery devoid of luxuries. There is no internet or cell coverage, making it easier to escape the hustle and bustle of the city," Fr Youssef said.

Two monks, a nun, and two postulants live in the three-storey monastery, which includes rooms for visitors, a bird farm, and an expansive library.

They live off the land and drink from a nearby well.

In the early hours of the morning, Fr Youssef calls them for breakfast from a courtyard overlooking caves carved into the hill.

The lonely hilltop refuge basks in unparalleled tranquillity.

Youssef Al Halabi, 48, has been a monk for 16 years but he said the lack of visitors left him wondering what he could do to fill his spare time.

"I started looking for ways to fill these long hours ... because sometimes we had zero yearly visitors," he said.

After his morning prayer, the white-bearded monk usually heads to a nearby cave to make candles. Sometimes he occupies himself with farming.

The monk, who has devoted his life to worship and to serving visitors, said he hoped people would fill the monastery once more "to share our way of life".

"This is a space to breathe, away from the noise and agitation," he said.