Ma`lula Things to Do Tips by MalenaN

The Convent of St Thecla is situated just above the village by the cliff. Thecla was one of the first Christian martyrs. The legend tells she was a pupil of St Paul, and a Seleucid princess. Because of her faith she was persecuted by her father. When soldiers came to get her she prayed to God for help and the cliff behind her opened up and she could escape. The tomb of St Thecla is situated in a cave above the convent and here you can drink healing water from a well. There is a nice view over the village from the tomb. You can also visit the church.

Leave a Comment

Ahead of the Convent of St Thecla is a canyon (siq) cut out of the rock by water. It is not as big and fascinating as the siq in Petra, but still impressive to see. The siq is gently sloping upwards and it takes about five minutes to walk it to the end.

Leave a Comment

When you reach the end of the siq you can turn left and follow the road to the top of the hill. From here there is a nice view over the valley below and the village. Near the edge of the cliff there is a hotel. If you continue along the road, past the hotel, you will soon come to the Monastery of St Sergius (Deir Mar Sarkis).

Leave a Comment

Monastery of St Serkis (Sergius) dates from the 4th century. The church was built on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to Apollo. You enter the monastery through a low doorway and cross a small courtyard to come to the church. Interesting in the church to see is the semi-circular altar with a drainage channel. The form of the altar and the rim around the edges is believed to be signs of that the altar was used during pagan times when animal sacrifices were made. There are also several icons of interest.

St Sarkis was a legionary in the Roman army, who converted to Christianity. He refused to sacrifice to the god Jupiter and was for that executed.

Leave a Comment

Maalula is most famous as the place where Aramaic is spoken. Aramaic is the language Jesus was speaking and in which some scripts were written.Nowdays Aramaic is only spoken in some villages in Syria.

Maalula is a small peaceful place. After visiting the sites it’s nice to walk around among the yellow and blue houses and sit down to rest and have something to drink.

Leave a Comment

After visiting the village I walked along the road away from Maalula and came to a café by the road. I sat down to write postcards and have a cola (25 SP) as there was a very nice view from there towards Maalula.

When I was leaving I asked for the bus or micro back to Damascus. They said I could sit down in front of the café because the bus would pass there and they would tell me which one was the right one.

Leave a Comment