On The Road Again To Damascus

A predominantly Muslim country (though 10% of its people are Christian), Syria is rich in Abrahamic history. Christians view the healing of Namaan the Syrian as prefiguring baptism. Abraham's servant, friend, and heir Eliezer was from Damascus, and Jesus found Paul on the way to persecute Damascenes who followed the Way. Some villagers still speak Aramaic, thought to be Jesus's primary language. Now Nixon biographer and friend Jonathan Aitken, his own Pauline experience well behind him, describes his recent visit and proposes Nixon-style diplomacy to safeguard the country's sacred antiquities.