65 Items
Mushabbak
An almost perfectly preserved C5th basilica south of the road from Aleppo to Daret 'Azzeh, Mushabbak is a popular destination for pilgrims on their journey to Qalat Seman.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Aleppo, Architecture, C5th, Church, Daret 'Azzeh, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Mushabbak, Qalat Seman, Syria
Batuta
Batuta is on Jebel Seman and in 1997 was not connected to the road network. The church is very damaged on its northern side but the bema is still clearly visible.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Batuta, Bema, C4th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Syria
Burj Heidar
Burj Heidar is on Jebel Seman and was one of the sites that had changed the most since being visited by Tchalenko in the 1940s. The church had been incorporated into a smallholding and the arcades stood in a field, with only the side apse to the south still extant to the east. No evidence of the bema remained when these pictures were taken in 1997.
The slides were developed in Syria and scuffed in the process and the hazy quality of some of the black and white images is due to the fact that this site was reached late in the afternoon, which affected the light quality.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Bema, Burj Heidar, C4th, Church, Jebel Seman, Limestone Massif, Syria
Dayr Tell Ada
Dayr Tell Ada stands on the southern slopes of Jebel Sheikh Barakat (the Mountain of the Old Man of Blessings) and plays a large role in the history of the Syrian Orthodox Church. It was mentioned by Theodoret and other chroniclers as the place where Simeon Stylites began his monastic career, before being expelled for the extreme feats of mortification that he insisted on undertaking. It was a 'dual house' for both Syriac and Greek speakers and had two abbots - one for each language - at the time of Theodoret.
It later became the home of St Jacob of Edessa, who died at Tell Ada in 708 having returned to pack up his fabled library when he moved home to Edessa.
Type: Architecture
Tags: Architecture, Dayr Tell Ada, Edessa, Greek, Jebel Seman, Jebel Sheikh Barakat, Library, Limestone Massif, Monastery, Simeon Stylites, St. Jacob of Edessa, Syria, Syriac, Theodoret
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