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Introduction
The ancient and predominantly Christian village of Maalula is
located in the eastern slopes of Al-Qalamoun mountains (Anti-Lebanon
mountains), southern
Syria about 50 km north of
Damascus. It is situated at an altitude of more than 1500 metres.
The houses are built on the slopes of a huge cirque of rocks that
encloses the village; the houses are constructed of stones with flat
beam roofs. Most of the houses have blue plaster on the outside, a
Christian custom.
There are two monasteries here; Saint Sergius (Sarkis) and Saint
Thecla (Tekla). Most of the inhabitants are Greek-Catholic and have
preserved in their spoken language a dialect of Syriac (Aramaic), the
language spoken by Christ. Two neighbouring villages, Jabaadin and
Najaa also speak the same language. The word Maalula means 'entrance'
in Aramaic.
The Catholic monastery of Saint Sarkis (St. Sergius) has inside it a
small Byzantine church whose altar has raised sides, like the pagan
altars of Roman templeshas; This Byzantine church and Byzantine-period
tombs are cut into the rock behind.
The Orthodox monastery, Mar Takla (St. Thecla), has a modern church.
History
Relics, boulders and caverns carved in the rocks relate the history of
thousands of years from the Aramaean era, when Maalula was part of the
kingdom of
Homs. During the Roman era it was named Seliocopolis. Maalula
played an important religious role during the Byzantine era, as it
became at the fourth century A.D. the centre of an episcopate that
lasted until the 17th century.
The Aramic language witch is still spoken in Maalula is an extremely
ancient language current in the Middle east during the first
millennium before Christ. Two books of the Bible, Daniel and Esdras,
were written in Western Aramaic. It was also the language of Christ.
The Lord?s Prayer, the prayer of Christians all over the world, was
first spoken in Aramaic; the monks of Mar Sarkis have made a recording
of it in this language.
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Aramean Language
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