Maaloula is on the news today and it is Eid El Berbara

Siq or Shiq Maaloula next to Mar Takla in Maaloula, Syria - image source TripAdvisor

Maaloula, a small city in Syria, is everywhere on the (sad) news today and it is Eid El Berbara (Saint Barbara's eve). What is so remarkable about this coincidence?
As a Child, I visited Mar Takla convent in Maaloula and still remember the alley through the rocks or the Siq Maaloula, where it is believed that Berbara crossed escaping the romans, disguising herself because she had embraced the Christian faith, thus Christians nowadays in Lebanon and Syria celebrate St. Barbara by Wearing costumes and trick or treating and singing popular songs in their streets.

You can find more info about the story here, so I am not going to go into the details, I remember very clearly the nuns telling me the story, yet this is the only link on the internet talking about St. Berbara passing in Maaloula that I could find.

Tonight, Children where knocking on my door trick or treating, there used to be much more kids celebrating this holiday, but it sadly seems like Halloween is taking over our 3rd of December St. Barbara's Celebrations.

Masks of Lebanese political leaders among other Characters in a shop for Eid El Berbara (Source Now Lebanon)

Today, from my blog usually dedicated to Lebanon, I send a simple shout out to Syria and I hope peace will be back in all its cities, and children and teenagers will be soon enough back on the street hiding their faces only because they are playing and not to hide their identities out of fear (Check Syria's Lost Generation by photographer Elena Dorfman)

Tarek 18years old, image source http://elenadorfman.com/