Maaloula is nestled in a picturesque gorge in the middle of the eastern slopes of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, at an altitude of 1500 to 1650 meters above sea level. Today, the village of Maaloula has no more than five thousand residents and several dozen churches clinging directly to the sheer cliffs. Everything here is unusual and very picturesque. Steep carved steps, like hanging threads, connect the terraces of the streets. Houses with flat roofs and balconies overhanging the cliffs, natural cornices, and caves are intertwined into a single architectural ensemble that has formed over centuries. Just as a mother tenderly embraces her child, the rocky towers surrounding Maaloula embrace it from all sides, resembling royal crowns.
According to archaeologists, this area is one of the oldest regions of human settlement in the Middle East, inhabited for over 50,000 years. The slopes of the mountains descending to the village are densely riddled with caves. These stone shelters were used by successive generations for living and burial, as well as for protection from enemies and bad weather. In ancient times, the modest settlement at the site of modern Maaloula belonged to the kingdom of Homs. During the Roman period, there was a small town called Seleucia. However, the real birth of Maaloula occurs during the Byzantine era, when it began to play an increasingly significant role. From the 4th to the 17th centuries, it housed one of the notable episcopal sees in church history. The local bishop Eutychius participated in the First Ecumenical Council in 325. The exploration of Maaloula began from the summit of Mount Kalamun. For pilgrims and tourists, a magnificent hotel has been built here, from whose windows the majestic panorama of the Syrian expanses, soaring cliffs, and the domes of fairy-tale churches can be seen.
Mar Sarkis, or the Monastery of Saint Sergius, is located right at the top. The slope is chaotically strewn with dark entrances to caves. The first Christian ascetics lived in them. The Roman legionary Sergius and his brother Bacchus, having become secret adherents of Christianity, refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. This monastery, named after them, was founded on the site of a pagan temple in the 4th century, specifically in 313, when the Byzantine Emperor Constantine proclaimed Christianity a permitted religion.
The Monastery of Saint Sergius is one of the oldest functioning monasteries in the world. The icons in the monastery's church are unique. Many were painted by the famous icon painter Michael from Crete. There are two icons gifted to the monastery in 1943 by General Anders, who lived in Maaloula for a long time. The two altars shaped like bowls are also unique. Every year on October 7, the feast day of Saint Sergius and Bacchus, grand services are held in Mar Sarkis. On ordinary days, it is not crowded here. The silence is broken by prayers, as they were a thousand years ago, sounding in the native language of the locals—Aramaic.
Aramaic is one of the oldest languages on the planet. Three thousand years ago, it was spoken by Semitic tribes that roamed throughout the Middle East. Those nomads were called Arameans. It so happened that they did not form a single nation or create a cohesive state, but their language gradually became a language of interethnic communication. It is the language of Jesus Christ.
From my diary. Indeed, in the Anti-Lebanon mountains, a lost world of early Christianity has been preserved. It has nestled against the cliffs, hidden in canyons and caves, maintaining the pulse of the Aramaic land and the Byzantine spirit. I observed something similar in Cappadocia in Turkey. And although the legacy and scale of early Christian activity is more significant, there are no real Christians left there. Only abandoned cities, churches, and memories remain, gradually transitioning from the realm of spiritual values to a commercial showcase for tourists.
The narrow canyon leading from the village into the depths of the rocky mountains is called al-Fajj. This place is closely associated with the life of Thecla—the first Christian saint and spiritual patroness of Maaloula. Thecla was born and lived in the city of Konya in Antioch (now part of Turkey). A beautiful young maiden, the daughter of wealthy and noble parents, was preparing for marriage. At the same time, Saint Paul, having left Jerusalem, arrived in the city of Konya through Damascus, Aleppo, and Antioch. Here he settled in one of the houses with the aim of spreading the Christian faith. One day, upon hearing the preaching of the Apostle Paul, Thecla unexpectedly becomes deeply imbued with faith in Jesus Christ. The firmness of her faith and her resolute decision incite hatred from her relatives, and even her own mother asks the governor to execute her disobedient daughter.
Following the apostles Paul and Barnabas to Antioch and Aleppo, Thecla continues to exemplify a righteous life. Here she learns of a pursuit organized by the governor of Konya. Thecla flees towards the Lebanon Mountains in hopes of escaping the chase. A band of mercenaries catches up with her at the foot of the mountains. Seeing the hopelessness of her situation, she turns to her new God—Jesus Christ—with a plea: "Do something, save me!" And at that moment, the stone wall parted. Allowing Thecla to pass through a narrow passage to the other side of the ridge, the mountains closed again.
At this place, early Christians carved caves and churches. One of the caves served as a home for Saint Thecla for many years. This cave has been preserved to this day. Nearby, a spring still flows. Where Thecla selflessly healed the sick and disabled, a chapel now stands. Here her holy relics found rest. Thus Maaloula was formed, which in Aramaic means "passage-path."
The stone crevice begins right from the gates of the Orthodox women's monastery of Saint Thecla, where thirty nuns reside. The monastery was founded in the early Byzantine period. It consists of two parts: a courtyard surrounded by galleries of cells, with the main temple in the center, and the cave where the relics of Saint Thecla are located. The monastery is headed by a mother superior. Priests serve here under the guidance of His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV.
As centuries ago, the residents of Maaloula live in hundreds of small houses resembling beehives. Not long ago, mosques were built here. One in the center of the village, another on the outskirts, but no one is in a hurry to convert to the new faith. Locals still attend their Christian churches, pray to Christ, and speak in His language.
The traveler has the opportunity to walk the path of Saint Thecla. The grand canyon, cutting through the limestone massif, creeps into the depths of the cliffs. A stream trickles along its bottom. Gradually, the path leads to the upper plateau at the Monastery of Mar Sarkis. Electricity has been laid here, and at night the canyon of Saint Thecla is illuminated by a gentle bluish light, highlighting the mystery of the memory-holding walls, trembling shadows... and hidden caves.
The next well-known Christian monastery, Saydnaya, is about 20 kilometers from Maaloula. We travel along the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The undulating yellow-green plateau to the east acquires the features of the Syrian desert. To the west, compressed by waves of ridges, it touches the gently sloping peaks covered with a light layer of snow.
Noon has arrived. The sun has dispersed the gathering clouds, turning the sky into a uniform pale blue expanse. Soon, through the haze woven from desert veils, Saydnaya appears. Externally, the area is less picturesque than around Maaloula. There are no steep walls, narrow ledges, or eye sockets of ancient caves. Saydnaya looks like a more civilized and comprehensible town. There are many new high-rise buildings, stepping into the fairly steep slope of the same Mount Kalamun.
At the very top is the old Saydnaya with its stone churches, temples, and towers. But the main attraction of this sacred land is the Monastery of the Mother of God. The monastery is often simply called Panagia Saydnaya. The first word is Greek, the second is Semitic: "All-Holy Lady"—this is how Orthodox Christians address the Mother of God. In Aramaic, the word "Saydnaya" means "place of hunting."
The first settlement noted in the sources here was called Dapaba in honor of a revered Aramaic deity.
The history of these places is primarily associated with the Byzantine era. At that time, Saydnaya appears in imperial documents under the name Justinianopolis, and this is not accidental. According to manuscripts from the monastery library, the Saydnaya monastery was founded in 547. There is a historical legend known to almost every local resident.
The Byzantine Emperor Justinian led his troops on a campaign against the Persians. The Romans set up camp in the desert, but soon began to suffer severely from thirst, as water in these regions is a great rarity. Full of gloomy thoughts, the emperor withdrew from the camp into the inhospitable land, when suddenly he saw in the distance a beautiful doe. The king eagerly began to chase it. The exhausted doe stopped on a rocky peak and, not giving the hunter a chance to aim, stepped towards a spring of pure and fresh water that opened up there. Suddenly, instead of the doe, Justinian saw the image of the Blessed Virgin, radiating great light. Extending her delicate hand to the emperor, the Mother of God said: "Do not kill me, Justinian... You must build a church on this very hill."
Then the miraculous vision disappeared. Upon returning, the emperor immediately ordered his builders to start developing the project for the temple. Time passed, and once again Justinian saw the radiant Doe-Virgin, who showed him the image of the future women's monastery.
For those who today ascend to the monastery via the rather steep and wide stairs, it will not be so easy to understand the layout of the internal structures of Saydnaya.
One of the first researchers of the complex, Habib az-Zayyat, wrote: "The present appearance of the monastery does not resemble creations executed in any known architectural style. It is undeniable that earthquakes and reconstructions have altered the original structure and system of buildings, creating a delightful confusion of levels, passages, cells, and halls stacked one above the other."
Here, the usual spatial laws cease to operate. Stepping over the threshold of the monastery, one becomes ensnared in a labyrinth placed inside a magical box. The spaces inside are much larger than outside. Numerous staircases lead to roofs that serve as squares of short streets. Running down the steps, one finds oneself surrounded by cozy courtyards. Many transitions, some of which are not entirely logical, resemble a fun attraction. And to get to a parallel street, one must take quite a journey, descending and ascending different levels of this fairy-tale monastery. The view from the roof of the highest tier is especially mesmerizing, from where both the eastern and southern expanses and the city of Saydnaya lie before you like on a palm.
The monastery has 30 sisters and more than three hundred rooms. On the staircase leading to the gates, a small section is fenced off. If you look closely, you can discern the iconographic silhouette of the Mother of God on the stone surface. The legend tells that a woman was ascending to the monastery to pray for her seriously ill son and was carrying a jar of expensive oil, bought with money she had painstakingly collected, as an offering to the Mother of God. The poor mother slipped on the steep stairs and broke the vessel, the precious oil spilled down the steps. The woman's grief was boundless—she had not delivered her gift to the doors of the monastery! But in response to the prayers and tears of the unfortunate woman, when she returned home, she found her son healed. And on the monastery stairs, the image of the Mother of God was forever imprinted as a symbol of hope for all who are close to despair.
The sacred place of the monastery is the chapel where the image of the Mother of God is kept, which, according to tradition, was painted by the evangelist Luke, the first icon painter. The history of the monastery notes that the icon was brought from Jerusalem in the late 8th century by the monk Theodore at the request of the abbess Mother Marina. It is said that Theodore, on his way from the Holy City, convinced of the holiness of the image, did not want to leave the icon in the monastery. Tempted by an irresistible desire to keep the relic for himself, he tried several times to secretly leave Saydnaya, but could not take a single step beyond its walls. Thus, the Mother of God herself chose the place for the presence of her image.
From my diary. Syria continues to amaze more and more. The history of this land is a layered pie, compressed from human civilizations, with clear boundaries, material values, and culture. Here, there is no need to dig out the sought-after detail from the depths of time. Each civilization has left a visible and tangible history.
Standing apart in this historical and temporal structure are Maaloula, Saydnaya, and other points of early Christianity. They return us to the roots of the emergence of the great faith. Personally, I do not regret at all that I went to Syria—a country where great civilizations were born and perished. Syria is the gateway to the history of humanity; it is a path through time. Now, as our swift journey is behind us, I recall the words of the discoverer of Ebla—Italian Paolo Mattia—that every person on Earth has two homelands: the place where they were born and the land of Syria. As a witness and eyewitness, I affirm that this is no joke or compliment to Syria, but a profound truth.
Before I put the final point, I want to say a few kind words about our guide Salim, who from the very first moments became dear to us for his deep knowledge of the humanities, exceptional command of the Russian language, warmth, and integrity. Much of our group’s vivid impressions taken from Syria are owed to him.
I say these words to Salim and feel that they touch him. He is happy too. Thank you, Salim! May there be peace in your land and our second homeland!