Word: feasts
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...Catholics around the world, Aug. 15 is among the holiest of feast days. It marks the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, when the mother of Jesus is believed to have been physically taken into heaven after death so that her body would not suffer earthly decay. For the Catholics of Sri Lanka, Aug. 15 this year marked a similar miracle: the survival of a 500-year-old statue of the Virgin, through the fiery tumult of a quarter-century of civil war, which was re-ensconced in a jungle church that was once again safe to travel...
...statue shared the fate of many Sri Lankans, becoming a refugee as it was carried from church to church until July 2008, when it was in a more secure spot. By November, it was once again at the shrine, ready for the outpouring of piety during this year's Feast of the Assumption. Last week, at a corner of the church, people kept filling bags, paper towels and handkerchiefs with earth from a small hole in the ground. The location is where Catholics believe the statue - miraculously hidden in a tree - was rediscovered by a woodcutter following the Dutch persecution...
...suppose my two-course Chinese feast turned out not to be much of a feast, or particularly Chinese, for that matter. But I think my mother would have nonetheless been proud...
...Sunday Take a cab to the National Museum, tel: (963-11) 222 8566, and feast your eyes on 4,000-year-old Phoenician glass, 2,000-year-old textiles, 2nd century frescoes and a tiny stone tablet with the world's oldest alphabet. Next door there's the Tekkiye Suleymaniye Complex, built in 1553 as a gathering point for pilgrims preparing for their annual hajj to Mecca. These days, in alleys off the charming gardens and courtyards, you can buy leatherwork and jewelry. After shopping, cross the road to the Four Seasons Hotel, tel: (963-11) 339 1000, where...
SUNDAY Time to check off the cultural big hitters. To taste the city's glorious Baroque past, feast your eyes on the chiaroscuro drama of the paintings adorning the Carthusian monastery of La Certosa di San Martino, tel: (39-081) 229 4502. Don't miss the stunning presepe (Nativity crib) that is one of the finest examples of this local artisanal craft. Unwind over Sunday lunch at La Scialuppa, www.lascialuppa. it, with views of the fishing vessels bobbing in the harbor. This should fuel your journey around the vast National Archaeological Museum, marcheo.napolibeniculturali.it, and its window on the world buried...