99 Items
The Church of Mar Elian, Homs
The Church of Mar Elian is believed to date back to the early fifth century and to have been founded on the site of the saint's martyrdom in 284. Elian was a local physician who was murdered by his father, a Roman officer, for his Christian faith. He is widely venerated in Syria for miracles of healing. The church was built around a late antique marble sarcophagus decorated with crosses and located in a small side apse south of the main sanctuary of the church. In the 1970s fragments of frescoes and mosaics were discovered during a renovation programme in the chamber around the tomb, and some elements of the decoration possibly date back as far as the sixth century, though most of the frescoes are twelfth century. Today the church interior boasts frescoes of the life of Mar Elian and various biblical scenes painted by two Romanian artists.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C12th, C5th, C6th, Church, Fresco, Homs, Late Antique, Mar Elian, Mosaic, Sarcophagus, Syria, Tomb
The Primacy of Peter, Tabgha
Situated on the north-western shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, a short distance from the church of the Multiplication, is a modern church built on the site Christ reinstated Peter as the head of the Apostles. Little of the original Late Antique church remains, thought its foundations have been incorporated into the new church. A projection of limestone rock lies at its eastern end, before the altar. This is believed to be the Mensa Christi (table of Christ) upon which Christ and the Disciples ate, following the miraculous catch.
Type: Architecture
Tags: C20th, Christ, Christian, Galilee, Holy Site, Israel, Landscape, Late Antique, Limestone, Pilgrimage, Rock-cut, St. Peter, Tabgha
Sitt er Rum
The small settlement of Sitt er Rum is west of Qalat Seman one the other side of the valley. Its most complete extant monument is the late antique tower beside the road to Zar Zita and Qatura.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Jebel Seman, Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Qalat Seman, Qatura, Sitt er Rum, Syria, Tower, Zar Zita
Bab al Hawa
Bab al Hawa means the gate of the winds and is the main border point between Antakya and Aleppo. A late antique monastery stands in no-mans land between the two passport and customs offices.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Aleppo, Antakya, Antioch, Architecture, Bab el Hawa, Late Antique, Limestone Massif, Monastery, Syria, Turkey
Resafa 1997 visit
These images were taken at Resafa in February 1997. It was pouring with rain and this affected the quality of the images, as did the fact that both the black and white images and the slides were developed badly in Syria. The visit was made in the company of Fr. Na'aman, a Rum Orthodox Archimandrite who ministered to all Christians in Raqqa and who appears in some of the images.
Most of the images show the basilica that dominates the city as the most substantial building still extant and that became the centre of the cult of Mar Sarkis (St. Sergius) after the partition of the city under Islamic rule. An early mosque abuts the north side of the basilica, but was not built to the same high standard and now little remains.
The rest of the pictures show the city walls and the Sura Gate (North gate) to the city.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Early Islamic, Gate, Late Antique, Martyrium, Mosque, Raqqa, Resafa, St. Sergius, Sura, Syria, Wall
Resafa Pilgrimage 1998
On 7th October 1998 thousands of Syrian and Lebanese Christians converged on Resafa to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the martyrdom of SS. Sergius and Bacchus (they were fully aware that they were one year late - this was blamed on typical Syrian lack of organisation by those asked to provide an explanation for the belated date). An ecumenical ceremony took place in the basilica and these pictures document this event.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Church, Early Islamic, Late Antique, Martyrium, Pilgrimage, Resafa, St. Bacchus, St. Sergius, Syria
Shuayb
Shuayb is the name given to a ruined late antique town east of Harran. The name comes from the local association of the site with the Prophet Jethro, who is venerated in a small cave shrine (a Roman/late antique funerary chamber) in the ruins. The architectural style is close to that of the Syrian Limestone Massif to the south, but is very simple and lacks the decorative relief carvings often found further south. It is un-excavated so little is known about the site, but the remains still above ground do not include any buildings that are clearly linked to religious practice and there are no unusual monuments or distinguishing features that enable scholars to identify the ancient name of this settlement.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Caves, Jethro, Late Antique, Roman, Shrine, Shuayb, Turkey
Sioni, Tbilisi
Sioni (Zion) was the most important church in Tbilisi until the new Cathedral of the Trinity was built on the other side of the river. Its foundations date back to late antiquity but it has been continuously altered and been almost completely rebuilt since the end of Communism.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C20th, Cathedral, Church, Georgia, Late Antique, Shida Kartli, Sioni, Tbilisi, Zion
Harran Gate, one of the south gates into the old city of Urfa
The Harran gate is built around the original late antique gate and incorporates late antique elements as well as Seljuk sculpture. These views show bot the north and south sides of the gate.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Defensive Network, Edessa, Gate, Harran, Late Antique, Sculpture, Seljuk, Turkey, Urfa, Wall