A Syrian desert monastery that was once a hub for interfaith dialogue, attracting tens of thousands, has reopened to visitors after more than a decade of war and isolation. "We yearn for people to return. We want to see them pray and meditate with us once more, so that they may find here a space for calm, silence and contemplation," father Jihad Youssef tells AFP, his voice echoing through the Deir Mar Moussa Al-Habashi (St Moses the Ethiopian) monastery that he heads. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES