September 4, 2014 Thursday

Pilates this morning.  Rolling like a ball is not as strenuous as the seal.  No video available.


Proverbs Chapter 22 - This reading is about have a good name, or a good reputation.  If we say we are Christians, taking Christ's name, we should reflect Him in a good way to others.  Thankfully He is forgiving.


On this day:
2011 - Everytime I look at this year when I was in the hospital 4 times, I am reminded of all the wonderful friends I have that visited me and prayed for me.   Thank you to all my dear friends and family!
1609 - English navigator Henry Hudson began exploring the island of Manhattan. Wrong Island for shopping and a play?


Parenting - My neighbors boys are in those teen years.  They are both great boys and I love to help out when I can.  I know what its like to be a single mom running here and there and balancing work.  Daniel came over after school yesterday and unloaded all his misgivings of his first classes in middle school.  He talked steady for an hour or more, of course I encouraged him.  I told his Mom later if when she asked what happened at school today, I could tell her.  Because they usually say, nothing.


Damascus Syria -  History is immense!

Antiquity[edit]

Ruins of the Jupiter Temple at the entrance of Al-Hamidiyah Souq

The Straight Street of Damascus, the Biblical "Street called Straight"

Damascus was conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Damascus became the site of a struggle between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires. The control of the city passed frequently from one empire to the other. Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander's generals, made Antioch the capital of his vast empire, which led to the decline of Damascus' importance compared with new Seleucid cities such as Latakia in the north. Later, Demetrius III Philopator rebuilt the city according to the Greek hippodamian system and renamed it "Demetrias".^[21]
In 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and subsequently incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the Decapolis because it was considered such an important center of Greco-Roman culture. According to the New Testament, Saint Paul was on the road to Damascus when he received a vision of Jesus.
Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a colonia by the Emperor Septimius Severus. During the Pax Romana, Damascus and the Roman province of Syria in general began to prosper. Damascus's importance as a caravan city was evident with the trade routes from southern Arabia, Palmyra, Petra, and the silk routes from China all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries.^{[citation needed]}
Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city did have a lasting effect. The Roman architects brought together the Greek and Aramaean foundations of the city and fused them into a new layout measuring approximately 1,500 by 750 meters (4,920 by 2,460 ft), surrounded by a city wall. The city wall contained seven gates, but only the eastern gate (Bab Sharqi) remains from the Roman period. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to five meters (16.4 ft) below the modern city.
The old borough of Bab Tuma was developed at the end of the Roman/Byzantine era by the local Eastern Orthodox community. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul and Saint Thomas both lived in that neighborhood. Roman Catholic historians also consider Bab Tuma to be the birthplace of several Popes such as John V and Gregory III.  Kind of long but worth reading!


Enjoy the day!  Make it memorable!