At dawn on Tuesday, August 10, people drove the steep winding road or climbed the near-sheer mountain path, worn by the steps of centuries of pilgrims, to St. Matti s, to vigil and await the last eclipse of the millennium the following day, from the highest point, at this holy place, in the land where Christianity, Judaism, and Islam evolved. Scientists, astronomers, and physicists traveled from Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, and Jordan to watch the spectacle and attend the subsequent three-day conference at the University of Mosul on the contributions of Arab scientists through the ages, to solar studies, astrophysics, and cosmology. It s difficult to asses exact damage or casualties. Iraq is reluctant to release casualty figures at any time. The blasted flocks of sheep lay on the plain below the mountain.
Candles burn, pleaders come day and night for cure.
Coming out of the dark chapel, I approached an elderly monk sitting facing the blazing sun without blinking. He talked of the suffering of the people under sanctions and the relief work of the monks. On my way down the mountain I encountered people carrying a makeshift stretcher on which a young woman was lying, up the flights of ancient steps. She was 28 and had been in a coma for some months. He had sold everything to the last hope, to transport her here, for St. Matti to cure her.