Travel Guide Maaloula

The main charm of Maaloula is certainly its remarkable location at the foot of a closed cliff between two narrow valleys. Before you reach this ochre, naked, crushed and sun-drenched décor, the visitor, leaving the arid road linking Damascus to Homs, first sees laughing gardens planted with vines, apricot and poplar. Passage by Ein el-Teen, "the eye of fig", a quiet town known to be the city of residence of the many truck drivers.A few lacets further, Maaloula. The small cubic houses, with walls covered with yellow or purple, but most often blue, cling to the cliff. Here, you can see ladders that allow you to move from one house to another through the terraces.The inhabitants of this village with a Christian majority have retained the use of a branch of Aramaic: the syriac, the popular language in the time of Christ, which was gradually supplanted by Arabic from the th century. Aramaic is also spoken in the neighbouring villages of Joubbadin and Al-Salkha. Teams of researchers have recently recorded this fragile heritage.At the entrance to the village, a giant jar marks the place where the road divides. A classic circuit is to bypass the cliff. By taking the right road, there is a small place to park at the entrance to the Santa Thecle convent open from 7 am to 20 pm. The Mar Takla, a modern building dedicated to the Greek Orthodox cult, gives access to a cave (Sainte-Thecle cave). The water that silicone the ceiling would be miraculous because it is here that the holy man is désaltéra. At the exit of the convent, the parade ("parade" is the name given to the narrow path, cut directly into the rock) of Sainte-Thecle is walking on foot. This mountain has a little banale story since it saved Saint Thecle. According to the legend, the disciple of Saint Paul was persecuted by Roman soldiers when the mountain split into two and allowed him to escape his persecutors. She spent the rest of her life in this cave, where the pilgrims now go by hundreds. At the end of the parade, a rough plateau surrounds the monastery, where many tombs are dug in the rock. We arrive at a second Greek Catholic convent dedicated to Saint Serge. The Mar Sarkis features elements dating back to the Byzantine era and houses icons of the th century. It is probably the oldest church in operation (its beginning dates back to the year 320). The convent is headed by Father Fayez, who is happy to provide the curious visitor who asks him for further information. Each morning, a liturgical meeting at 7 p. m. and then opening the convent at 8 p. m.