Day 5 - Cradle of Civilisation
Trip Start
Sep 26, 2010
1
11
14
Trip End
Oct 03, 2010
Maaloula, Syria
Friday, October 1, 2010
Maalula, set in the narrow foothills of Jebel Libnan ash-Sharqiyya, there is a little village which was mentioned on BBC news a few months back about its status in religious context. The village is the only village which still speaks the language of Jesus Christ, the language of Aramaic, bearing similar resemblance of that of Arabic and Hebrew.
South of the church is a hillside of caverns and holes which are said to have been inhabited by prehistoric age. This place screams serene and sanctuary and can clearly feel a bit cut off from the busy real world we call our lives. I personally, found it quite a restful and peaceful place to roam around.
We entered the Greek Catholic Monastery of St. Sergius (Mar Sarkis) where we were able to see original mosaic walls, listen to the language of Christ in the Lord's Prayer. Both Christians and Muslims come here on pilgrimage to receive blessings.
The Monastery was built in the 4th century on the remains of a pagan temple, the Mar Sarkis monastery is one of the oldest in Christendom. That it likely predates the Council of Nicea (325 AD) is evidenced by the fact that it has a round altar, which was prohibited at the Council. Mar Sarkis is designed after the pattern of the martyrion (a shrine dedicated to a martyr) and is dedicated to St. Sergius, a Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian beliefs (Sergius has a grander basilica in Rasafa, Syria). The convent of Mar Sarkis retains its historic feel and owns an interesting collection of religious icons from the 16th to the 18th century including one of the Virgin Mary and another of the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus. The nuns, some of whom speak English, show visitors around. EXCERPT FROM: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/maalula.
It was a beautiful place and one that should be on anybodies list if they are traveling around Syria.
