Letter From Iraq #14

Another week has passed and things are really zooming by.  There was nothing exceptionally exciting about this week to report.  The weather hasn’t been all that exciting and therefore work hasn’t been all that busy.  On the other hand there have been a lot of packages that have been coming in and a lot of them have puzzle magazines in them so I have a lot to keep me busy.  Otherwise I have been keeping myself busy by trying to stay warm with the low temperatures getting down into the low 30’s the last couple of days.

Last week I started talking about my trip out to Saint Elijah’s Monastery that is located on Forward Operating Base Marez, which is actually located right next to FOB Diamondback.  FOBs Marez and Diamondback are like Bismarck and Mandan, except instead of a river separating us we have a road that runs in between.  In my last letter I explained some of the interesting points on the outside of the monastery and now I would like to point out some of the interesting things on the inside.

When we first entered the monastery we were standing in what is called the gateway.  If the monks living in the monastery were being cloistered, or secluded from the outside world, the gateway would be the place where the visitors would wait for a specific monk to be retrieved in order to conduct business.  During times that the monks weren’t being secluded the gateway was the place that the monks would greet their guests with traditional hospitality such as washing their feet, bringing them food and drink, and making small talk before they came in to conduct their business.  The gateway also contains what is called the corner stone.  It is one of the largest stones used in the construction of building.  This corner stone has a cross that was etched into it during the building process.

Once you step through the gateway you enter into the courtyard.  For the most part the entire inside of the monastery looks like a courtyard due to the lack of a ceiling.  While in the courtyard we were told about the different rooms and what their suspected uses were.  I say suspected because there is little documentation on the building and so sometimes we have to make an educated guess on the uses of the rooms.  In the main courtyard is where it is thought that the well was located for the monastery.  We think that it is a due to the fact that when the military first took control of the monastery this one spot was the only area within the monastery that had any sort of vegetation growing around it.  Close to the well is an underground room that is called the cistern and it’s main function was to hold the water that was drawn from the well.  The reason that this underground room is believed to be the cistern is because of it’s proximity to the well and the ease of transferring water from the well to the cistern.  The cistern would also have been used to catch rain water during the rainy seasons.  The cistern these days is in ill repair.  During the time that the Iraqi army was using the monastery for their command post they would throw garbage and sewage into it as a storage area.  This seems like a poorly thought out plan due to the health implications that would have arose from these actions.  When the American Army took over the area it was decided that some thing would have to be done about the odor that came from that room and so fuel was poured into the cistern and it was started on fire to burn it out.  This caused all of the walls in the cistern and the room above to blacken.  The real problem that arises is that you would think that we would have decided to not do the same thing as the Iraqis did but when you look into the hole you can see garbage that is clearly from the American Army during their stay.

On the opposite side of the monastery from the cistern is the largest room of the whole monastery.  This room is the chapel and it has also sustained some damage.  Before you enter the chapel, if you look above the doorway, you will see an area of faded white on the stone.  This wasn’t put there by the builders of the monastery or the monks them selves, it wasn’t even put there by the Iraqi army.  While the 101st Airborne Division was located there the commander either ordered or allowed the units patch to be painted on the wall above the door.  Most of the paint has since been removed with signs still visible that it was there since no more paint could be removed without permanent damage to the wall.

Inside of the chapel you see that the room is actually divided up into three separate rooms.  The room in the middle is the biggest of the three with the two rooms capping the center being about the same size.  In the center room there are huge rocks lying on the floor where some of the supports on the ceiling are cracking and falling.  The wall is also caving in slightly due to the toe missile that hit the outside wall.  In one of the end rooms is where the masses were conducted during the monasteries use.  The altar that was built into the monastery is still mostly intact.  When the monastery was in use the monks would have placed a relic within the altar, usually a bone, and this would make the area sacred.  This relic is believed to be removed from the altar.  Above the altar is an interesting square hole that is cut into the wall and faces outside of the monastery.  It was explained that up until just a few years ago there was a small lip that was built around the hole and every year on Easter day the sun would shine through the hole and down onto the altar.  The altar room was also built so that the presider of the mass could be heard in the other rooms of the chapel even though they were talking towards the wall, as was the custom in those days.

As I start to run out of room again for this week I will sign off.  This brings me to the end of my story about the monastery but, as always with a structure this old, there is much more to tell and even more that we don’t know about it.  If any you would like to know more about the monastery please feel free to email me or write and I will try my best to answer any questions.

As I sign off for this week I want to thank every one who has been reading these letters and especially those who have taken the time to write to tell me that they have been enjoying them.  Without your words of gratitude this would be a lot harder to write.  I’m glad that you all have been enjoying them.

If you have a question that you would like to ask or just want to say Hi feel free to email me at john.iraq@hotmail.com.  If you would like to write and send the letter through the post office my mailing address is:

SSgt Ferderer, John B.

F Co. 5-158 AVN (AF Weather)

FOB Diamondback

APO, AE 09334

Until we meet again, Have A Great Air Force Day!