What an amazing and overwhelming experience...to visit the home villages of our ancestors, the villages where our grandparents were born...Dahr Safra (the village of the Michael's) and Harishe (the village of the Ackel's.) They are really just one village, Dahr Safra at the top of the mountain, Harishe at the bottom, about 100 yards from the Mediterranean!
(Left to Right): Fadya Booz (a relative to the Michael's), Craig, the priest of the village, Hamman, our "guide," and Rianda, a relative of the Joe Thomas family. We are outside of the old St. George's Church in Dahr Safra, where our ancestors were baptized and married! The entire area is Catholic (Maronite).
Inside the old St. George's Church.
A typical home in Dahr Safra.
On the road to Dahr Safra, looking down into Harishe.
Harishe. On the left you can see a Maronite Catholic Church, built by Joe Dow of Houston, a native of Harishe. Unfortunately I ran out of film before we actually went down into Harishe, but I captured images on my cell phone. As soon as I get them transferred, I will post them! Right next to the church is the home of the one Ackel relative I met...her husband is a cousin to Joe Dow. They took me to what they called the "Ackel Family Home" further down from their home, and told me that this abandoned stone cottage was more than likely where our grandfather, John Habib Ackel, had been born! I can't wait to post those photos! Yes, the house is right on the Mediterranean, and the vegetation is lush...
From the highest point in Dahr Safra.
The new St. George's Church in Dahr Safra. It was to be dedicated the following weekend! As you can see below, they had not yet installed the pews!
MORE TO COME!
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