The magnificent village of Maalula is one of the most important Christian Sites in Syria and one of the oldest Christian towns in the world where the Aramaic language of Jesus Christ is still spoken,

The ancient Town of Maalula located 56 km to the northeast of Damascus, situated at an altitude of more than 1500 meters.

Maaloula (the name means the passage, the gorge)

The sacred town is characterized by its high rocks carved to enlarge natural caves and have many cracks which sometimes pierce them from side to side and allow a passage of men or animals; it is likely that the inhabitants of the town used them to escape in case of danger.

The longest of these passages is associated with the life of Saint Thecla, one of the first followers of St. Paul the Apostle where the saint was helped to escape from her persecutors by the miraculous opening of a crack into the rock where a holy water drips from the vault.

The long and sometimes very narrow passage became a holy site and many tombs were carved into the nearby rocks; today the passage is the main attraction of Maaloula and buses unload tourists at one end and pick them up at the other.

The two main monasteries of Maaloula ( St. thakla Monastery and Saints Sergius and Bacchos Monastery) are located at the opposite ends of the small town.

today Maaloula enjoys some wealth from being visited by many foreigners; tourists and believers who are attracted by the town's religious tradition, by the past usage of Aramaic and by a very evocative landscape

Maaloula remains today one of the only major teaching centers within the World where one can still learn the ancient language of Christ…Aramaic

Maaloula celebrates three major festivals: the Holy Cross Festival on September 14; the Festival of Mar Takla on September 22; and the festival of Mar Sarkis on October 7