TRIPS ABROAD

As part of its outreach mission, SERMEISS periodically sponsors study trips abroad. These have included a six-week travel-study of Israel and Egypt; a seven-week faculty seminar in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and the Yemen Arab Republic; and the two-week study program in Syria described below. To be notified of future trips, send your name and mailing address to sermeiss@georgiasouthern.edu.

In conjunction with the National Council for U.S.-Arab Relations, SERMEISS arranged a study program for pre-collegiate teachers for June 13-29, 2000. SERMEISS members Dr. John A. Williams, Professor Emeritus at the College of William and Mary and a specialist on Islamic Religion, Civilization, and History; and Mrs. Caroline Williams, a specialist on Islamic Art and Architecture, led the group.

The trip began in Aleppo, a major center of Arab civilization and a city of importance from very early times. Participants met with a chief Muslim Shaykh of the city and the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church. Embassy officials in Damascus provided a briefing on U.S.-Syrian relations. Travel beyond the cities enabled the group to experience the diversity of the region: agriculture, orchards, villages, deserts, oases. There were also visits with Syrian families.

The itinerary included the ancient city of Palmyra; the Crusader Knights Templar’s city of Tartus; the Crusader castle of the Hospitallers at Krak des Chevaliers; the huge water wheels at Hama; the Great Mosque of 705-715; the tomb of Saladin; the large bazaars; the Shi’ite shrine of Lady Zaynab, granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and sister of the martyred Imam Husayn; the pilgrimage church of St. Simeon; the Christian shrine of the house of Ananias; the Street Called Straight and the wall from which St. Paul was lowered; the National Museum, Damascus; the Golan areas not occupied by Israel; and many other locations. The group were the first American visitors to the tomb of president Hafez Al-Assad, who died just prior to their arrival.