37 Items
Qalb Lozeh
The church in the village of Qalb Lozeh ("Heart of the Almond") is the largest in the region and dates from the C5th. It is surrounded by the modern village and is one of the best preserved churches in the area, although the north side has been damaged and a new wall has been built to secure the monument. At one point the church had a bema in the nave, but this was removed and the outline of the former platform is still visible in the flagstones. It is also notable for its impressive western façade that is flanked by two bell towers.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Il'Ala, Limestone Massif, Qalb Lozeh, Syria, Tower
Bosra Cathedral of SS. Leontius and Bacchus
The C5th cathedral of Bosra has a quatrefoil centralised floor plan terminating in the east end in a complex arrangement of a central apse, flanked by two chambers that then link through to two further small subsidiary apses to north and south. Therefore the east end is divided into five chambers, three being apsed and two that presumably functioned as sacristies or martyria.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basalt, Bosra, C5th, Cathedral, Centrally-Planned, Martyrium, St. Bacchus, St. Leontius, Syria
Resafa Martyrium
The C5th centrally-planned martyrium at Resafa was the original resting place of the saint and the focus of the cult. Later the relics were translated to the basilica to the south east of the city and the importance of the church declined.
The colour images are from 2010.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C5th, Centrally-Planned, Martyrium, Resafa, St. Sergius, Syria
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
Madrasa Halawiyeh
The madrasa is an Islamic school that was built by Nur al-Din (1118-1174) on the apse of the former Byzantine cathedral of Aleppo. The capitals are very close stylistically to those at Qalat Seman, suggesting that the church was originally built in the second half of the fifth century. Beside the steps down into the madrasa is a large basalt block inscribed with Christian symbols and some Syriac words. Its placement seems designed to underline Islamic supremacy over the former Christian owners of the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Aleppo, Architecture, Basalt, Byzantine, C12th, C5th, Capital, Cathedral, Church, Inscription, Madrasa, Madrasa Halawiyeh, Nur al-DIn, Qalat Seman, Sculpture, Syria, Syriac, Syriac Inscription
The house of St. Peter, Capernaum
Capernaum is an ancient fishing village situated on the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Within an insula of this village are a number of rooms that are traditionally associated with the house of Peter the Apostle. A simple, square room within this complex was given particular attention by the Christian community in the years immediately following his death. In the fourth century, this room became a Domus Ecclesia (a house church) and was the place for Christian prayer and gatherings. The numerous inscriptions on the painted plaster of this place suggest that it was a prominent centre of pilgrimage, even by this early period. In the fifth century, an octagonal church was built over the house church. It consisted of an inner octagon that was directly over the venerated room, a larger concentric octagon and an outer semi-octagon.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Basalt, C1st-C2nd, C20th, C4th, C5th, Capernaum, Centrally-Planned, Christ, Christian, Church, Domus Ecclesia (house church), Galilee, Geometric Motif, Holy Site, Inscription, Israel, Mosaic, Octagonal, Pilgrimage, St. Peter, Wall
Kalota
There are several churches in Kalota, the one with a bema is dated 492 and located to the east of the sprawling settlement. The village is sprawling and was quite extensively inhabited in 1997 and 1998. The new road to the village means that it will now be even densely inhabited and this will put the archaeological remains at risk.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Kalota, Limestone Massif, Syria
Qal'at Kalota
The C5th church of Qalat Kalota stands on a hill to the west of the village of Kalota. It gets its name from the Arabic word "Qal'ah" or castle as, like Kharab Shams, the church was fortified in the Islamic era. It is generally well preserved and stands in a large courtyard with a martyrium to the south of the church.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Early Islamic, Fortress, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Qalat Kalota, Syria
Sheikh Sulaiman C5th church
The C5th church remains in the heart of the village and it is perhaps for this reason that so little of it was still extant in 1997. The bema was still visible along with fragments of wall and several doorways, but the rest of the stone had been taken from the site.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Sheikh Sulaiman, Syria
Qal'at Seman
Qal'at Seman is the site where Simeon Stylites the Elder stood on a pillar for 36 years. The hill is located to the north of Jebel Sheikh Barakat and the monumental complex was constructed on the orders of the Emperor after Simeon died in 459. It was one of the biggest churches in the world at the time it was built.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, C5th, Church, Jebel Seman, Jebel Sheikh Barakat, Limestone Massif, Martyrium, Pilgrimage, Pillar, Qalat Seman, Simeon Stylites, Stylite, Syria