Deir mar musa Al-habashi :        

Photo by Hovic

Geography and History :
The ancient Syrian monastery of st. Moses the Abyssinian ( Deir Mar Musa el-Habashi ) overlooks a harsh valley in the mountains east of the small town of Nebek , 80 km north of Damascus . It is about 1320 meters above sea level .
Prehistoric hunters and shepherds first inhabited the area around the monastery , attracted by the natural cisterns and pastures , ideal for herding goats . Perhaps the Romans or Palmiriens built a watchtower here . Christian hermits later used the cave for meditation and, thus created the first small monastic center .
According to local tradition , st. Moses the Abyssinian was the son of an Ethiopian king . He refused to accept the crown , honors and marriage . Instead he looked towards the Kingdom of God . He travelled to Egypt and then to the Holy Land . He later lived as a monk in Qara , Syria and then as a hermit in the valley where the monastery is now situated and was martyred by Byzantine soldiers.
Tradition says that his family took his body but a miracle separated the thumb of his right hand and it was left as a relic – it is now conserved in the Syrian church of  Nebek . 
From archaeological and historical evidence, we know that monastery of st. Moses existed from the middle of the 6 th century and belonged to the Syrian Antiochian Rite . The present monastic church was built in the Islamic year 450 ( 1058 AD ) , according to Arabic inscription on the walls , which begin with the words : “In the name of God the Merciful , the compassionate “ .
The frescoes in the church date from the 11 th and 12 th centuries . In the 15 th century the monastery was partially rebuilt and enlarged . The monastery was abandoned in the first half of the 19 th century and slowly fell into ruin . Nevertheless , it remained in the ownership of the Syrian Catholic Diocese of Homs , Hama , and Nebek . The inhabitants of Nebek continued to visit the monastery with devotion and the local parish struggled to maintain it .
    In 1984 , restoration work began through a common initiative of  the Syrian State , the local Church and a group of Arab and European volunteers . The restoration of the monastery building was completed in 1994 thanks to co-operation between the Italian and Syrian States . This Italian and Syrian school for restoration of frescos in the context of Syrian European co-operation .
The new foundation of the monastic community started in 1991 .

Photo by Hovic

The Environmental ,Agricultural , and Social Dimensions :   
The monastic community of  Deir Mar Musa and the inhabitants of the surrounding region lived in a manner which , though rough and difficult , was balanced . The vegetable and animal species have adapted to the presence of humans for many millennia
The presence of humans has changed the environment but not caused drastic upheaval . For example , the traditional methods of gathering and distributing water for agriculture and farming have caused little environmental degradation .
Since the 19 th century , however , the balance between humans and environment has gradually deteriorated , with the resulting problems worsening in the twentieth century . The region has witnessed a strong desertification and the beginnings of pollution .
A rare exception has been the valleys surrounding the monastery , which have provided a precious refuge for plants and animals . Unfortunately the valleys are also at risk from the impact of this general environmental decline .
A very large increase in population density together with a resumption of agricultural and farming activities as a result of the economic crisis caused by the Gulf War , has renewed the urgency of the environmental question . With so many people and so few resources , this question is no longer a philosophical one , but one which truly effects ordinary individuals at both an economic and social level . We are in need of strategies didactics , and solidarities . Thus , our social community of Deir Mar Musa , composed of  monks, nuns, employees and guests , has made this environmental question an integral part of its vision . To have chosen not to – and allowed the environment to continue to decline – would have endangered the very possibility of the monastery existing as a place of spirituality and meditation with a positive social impact . For us , our environment has to be protected and also valued : spiritually , aesthetically , biologically , socially and economically .