Went driving out of Damascus during the New Year holidays and visited Ma’lula and Seidnaya. It’s just a half day trip though! Located about 60 km out of Damascus and 1500 meters above sea level lie the picturesque town of Ma’lula, where the houses are being constructed along the face of the mountains, just like a fairy tale town of houses carved out of mountains. Aside from that, Ma’lula has its own history to tell the world and its visitors.
There are two historic Christian monasteries in Ma'lula: Saint Sergius is a Greek Catholic church dedicated to Saint Sergius while the other is a Greek Orthodox church dedicated Saint Thekla. Legend has it that St. Thekla, one of the pupils of St. Paul, was fleeing her pagan father’s guards when she found herself trapped against the face of the high rocky mountain. Her passionate prayers and tears caused the mountain to split, allowing Thekla to escape. Today Thekla’s tears trickle down into a grotto forming a pool, where believers collect water for its miraculous powers.
There are two historic Christian monasteries in Ma'lula: Saint Sergius is a Greek Catholic church dedicated to Saint Sergius while the other is a Greek Orthodox church dedicated Saint Thekla. Legend has it that St. Thekla, one of the pupils of St. Paul, was fleeing her pagan father’s guards when she found herself trapped against the face of the high rocky mountain. Her passionate prayers and tears caused the mountain to split, allowing Thekla to escape. Today Thekla’s tears trickle down into a grotto forming a pool, where believers collect water for its miraculous powers.
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The other special significant of Ma'lula is that her inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ. Only two other neighbouring villages, Jaba'din and Naj'a speak the same language. The word Ma'lula means "entrance" in Aramaic. Heard the language being spoken when we were at a souvenir shop browsing when the shop owner spoke with a delivery man. It really sounds different from Arabic, Latin or others that we are familiar with.
On the way back to Damascus, we decided to take another route from the way that we came which enabled us to visit another town, Seidnaya, which has another historical landmark. Seidnaya lies about 30 kilometers from Damascus. The town is well known for its Christian heritage, similar to Ma’lula. After Jerusalem, Seidnaya has been the most famous center for Christian pilgrimage in the east since the sixth century A.D., when a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian while he was hunting a deer in the area. The deer miraculously transformed into the Virgin Mary, who asked him to build a shrine in her honor on the site. The convent at Seidnaya contains one of the most important icons in the Christian world, believed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.
Both town, Ma'lula and Seidnaya, are unique villages, portraying a strange mixture of past and present, reality and legend, sanctity and beauty which should not be missed by anyone having the opportunity to land in Syria..
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