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Now a deserted village, Refade evokes much of the charm of the ‘Dead Cities’. Curiously there is no church but the nearby chapel at Sitt al-Rum may have served the village in Byzantine times. Butler describes Refade as ‘the most picturesque of all the little deserted cities of the hill country’ and Tchalenko saw it […]

The Greek Orthodox Church of St Michael at Safita still occupies the fortified tower / church structure built under the Templars. De Laborde’s engraving from the 1840s shows the town walls  still surviving in part behind modern shops. ما تزال كنيسة القديس ميخائيل التابعة لطائفة اليونان الأرثوذكس تحتل أحد طوابق برج صافيتا الذي بناه فرسان […]

This monastery had been greatly expanded in recent years but at its core contains a small chapel possibly dating back to the time of Justinian (sixth century). توسع كثيراً هذا الدير في السنوات الماضية، إلا أن القسم الأصلي فيه يضم كنيسة قديمة ربما تعود لعهد الإمبراطور البيزنطي جوستنيان في القرن السادس الميلادي.  

The church of ‘Our Lady of the Greeks’ sites almost by itself on the plain north of Jebel Sheikh Barakat and on the way to the Byzantine village of Refade. This fourth century Byzantine chapel, single naves, is almost devoid of decoration. The second and third images below are posted courtesy of the blogsite of […]

One of the most extraordinary sites of the Byzantine period. This complex of four separate basilicas clustered around a central courtyard was designed to commemorate the column on which the Syrian ascetic ‘pillar saint’ (or stylite), Simeon, spent the last decades of his life, seeking isolation from all physical comforts. The site is described fully […]

This village once housed three churches of which remains of two survive. The church of AD 602 is one of the last churches built in Syria before the Persian invasion and the subsequent Islamic conquest. كانت هذه القرية فيما مضى تحوي ثلاث كنائس بقيت اثنتان منها. الكنيسة التي بنيت عام 602 تعتبر واحدة من آخر […]

Just 27 km north of Damascus, the Seidnaya Plain shelters a remarkable collection of Christian remains, some re-cycled from the stones of Classical-era buildings. st famous is the convent of the Virgin of Seidnaya, founded by Justinian in the sixth century and still a pilgrimage destination for people of many faiths. The little Chapel of St […]