| We at IRTOURING Offers Cultural Tours to iran , | | | | Sarkis, the monastery was named for a Roman |
| Best Iran tour, iran tours, travel to iran and more | | | | officer... Sergius and his friend Bacchus, a fellow officer |
| Maloula, the mother land of the languages of the Jesus | | | | and co-religionist, were tortured and executed in the |
| We were standing in the courtyard of St. Sergius, a | | | | Syrian city of Resafa, and many churches in this |
| Greek Catholic monastery in the Syrian hill town of | | | | country bear their names. |
| Maaloula, about an hour northeast of Damascus. It | | | | By far, the most important Christian site in Syria, is |
| was a hot day in late summer, and the strong sun | | | | the magnificent village of Maaloula. In Syria it means |
| bounced off the light-colored limestone walls. My wife, | | | | "the entrance", probably referring to the gorge in |
| Cokie, and I sought the shade of a portico as our | | | | between the mountains. Maaloula is the only village in |
| guide, Hana, explained the history surrounding us. | | | | the world that still speaks Aramaic, the language of |
| The original church, he said, dated from the 4th century | | | | Jesus Christ. |
| but was built on top of a pagan sanctuary, and some | | | | This village, with its houses piled on top of one another |
| of the wooden beams, made of Lebanese cedar, | | | | on the side of the mountain, makes it one of the |
| were more than 2,000 years old. Also known as Mar | | | | prettiest villages in Syria. |