Maaloula One of the Most Important Tourist Attractions in Syria

DAMASCUS, (ST)-Maaloula is one of the most attractive historical tourist sites in Syria, the Czech Kam Se Vydat Website said in a photo report.

The report, which included 22 colored photos, reflected the most important tourist places and monasteries in the city.  

“Maaloula is distinguished by its geographical location and famous colorful houses on the slopes”, said the report, pointing out that the inhabitants of Maaloula are still speaking the Aramaic language, the language of Jesus Christ.

The report, talked in detail about the history of Mar Tekla and Mar Sarkis monasteries, noting the later is one of the oldest monasteries in the world.

 Maaloula is a town in Damascus Countryside province. It is located 56 km to the northeast of Damascus and built into the rugged mountainside at an altitude of more than 1500 m.

This beautiful peaceful town was the target of Al-Qaeda -linked Jabhat Al-Nusra in 2013. The terrorists attacked the town, harassed and displaced the locals.

On December 3, 2013, the terrorists kidnapped a number of Greek Orthodox nuns along with three of their assistants from St. Tekla monastery. The kidnapping ended on March, 2014, when the nuns and the three assistants were freed in a Lebanese border area.

It is to be noted that the terrorists attacked many historical and archaeological sites (Christian and Moslem) in an attempt to erase the history of civilizations-to break the mosaic of which Syria is made from -up till today the whereabouts of two priests from Aleppo remain unknown despite numerous efforts to end their hardship.

In April 2014, the Syrian Arab army drove the terrorists out of Maaloula and restored security and stability to the town.

Hamda Mustafa