Mushbak: Dead Cities, Part I and other Aleppo, Syria Off The Beaten Path Tips

I was invited to pitch in with a couple of women who were bargaining for a van day trip through the Dead Cities area. While it's possible to catch local transportation in this region, I had only a day and was glad to share transport in with these adventuresome gals. The agriculture outside Aleppo in this region appears very difficult due to a plentitude of rocks. It may be that after the forests were cut down a millenium or more ago, the soil blew or eroded away with repeated plowing. We found a Palestinian Camp along the way and then arrived at Mushbak, a 5th century Byzantine Cathedral of some interest. Walls and arches are in fine shape as is the basilica at one end. Nearby are holes in the ground, which were told were tombs. This was about a 30 minutes stop, not more. And, then we were on our way to Dead Cities, Part II. Overall, the Dead Cities tour, which is presented in the next several tips, is really great for early Christian granite ruins, most of which are beautifully encrusted with colored lichen.

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Further down the road that leads to the Aafrin River valley, we came across a rural village of Syrian herdsman. A woman proudly showed here festive dress, and I stopped to photograph the long haired sheep with curled horns. Qatura is known for being a series of Roman tombs, which are heavily eroded and hard to appreciate, but the corner of a Byzantine building also remains here. This is a 10 minute stop, no more, although the countryside is rather pleasant even on an overcast day as we continue on our way to Dead Cities Part III

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This ruined city is the most fascinating and extensive ruins in the Dead Cities tour. The history of the site is simply fascinating. See the link below for more details, but basically these ruins are the remains of a early Christian center for learning called Stylite, based upon the preaching of San Simeon. San Simeon was an ascetic monk who chained himself to the top of a column for nearly 40 years, raising and lowering his food by chain, and preaching or answering the questions of pilgrims who happened by on their way to Jerusalem. San Simeon's message must have been very impressive, for at his death a octogonal basilica was built around the column from which he preached. The design of this basilica was very important as it provided the model for Constantine's Haga Sophia in Istanbul--the largest domed building for nearly a thousand years. The four basilica lay-out may not be apparent from my images, but basically it forms the floor plan of a cross around the central octogon where remains of San Simeon's column still stands. Pilgrims chipped away souvenirs such that the column is now reduced to a large boulder. Nearby are surprisingly well preserved Baptistry, a Cloister, and Stables, all built before the advent of Islam. These photos of the main Cruciform Basilica are followed by more details and images from other buildings in Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the Dead Cities Tour.

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Website: http://www.syriagate.com/Syria/about/cities/Aleppo/simeon.htm

The size of the ruins of San Simeon cruciform basilica merits additional images to conceptualize it's importance within the realm of early Christian architecture. Even now the lichen encrusted granite used to build this monument attracts pilgrims--this time mainly those interested in archeology. The Stylite order of Christian aseticism was found as late as the 19th century in Russia. The principles of San Simeon's teachings are more than I can present, but basically, by staying atop the column Simeon attempted to get closer to God. The Dead Cities tour continues with more on San Simeon in the next tips.

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Website: http://www.pef.org.uk/EarlySyriaPages/Qala'at%20Semaan.htm

These images are close-ups of the San Simeon architectural features and early Byzantine art. Note the use of Roman style arches and yet this construction is somewhat more sophisticated. The Dead Cities Tour of San Simeon continues with the views of other buildings that were part of the Stylite monestary.

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Byzantine soldiers took San Simeon's body back to Antioch and later to Constantinople, but the Stylite monastism flourished, resulting in the building not only of the huge four basilica cathedral, but also a number of buildings devoted to housing students, performing baptisms, and sheltering the horses.

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These are miscellaneous views not fit in the earlier tips. There is one more point. San Simeon originally was expelled from the monestary at Dier Semaan, which is just down the hill. Thus, when expelled, San Simeon climbed higher into the hills and began his more severe type of ascetism. So, included here are introductory images for Dier Semaan, the next stop on the Dead Cities Tour.

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The region between Aleppo and Antioch, in Turkey, was certainly rich in early Christian religious activity, and so monastic orders of the type Dier Semaan represents were very common. These orders made their contributions before and after the Council of Nicea, an elective body of sorts that decided which literature would be officially part of the New Testament. There are of course numerous other writings, some of which were contributed by orders such as this. The remains of Dier Semaan are more scattered than those at Qalaat Samaan largely because this area is still inhabited. Stones from one building is used to prop up the windows of another, and in this area too are simple beehive shaped houses of the modern Syrian peasant farmer. These homes didn't appear to have much in the way of electricity or running water. Actually, we visited Dier Semaan on a return loop quite some time after seeing Qalaat Samaan, so the light was low and I didn't have the time to amble over to some of the larger structures at some distance from the road. It is clear though that the region was once littered with libraries and villas devoted to monastic work, and that the region supported a larger population than it does today.

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The Afrin River flows though the Dead Cities region, providing irrigation for olive orchards and seasonal crops. The soil is a red color, and given that the region has been farmed from the dawn of time, it must be quite rich. The horse is still used in places to plow small farms, although we did find some larger mechanized farms on the richer soils near the river. Water wars between Turkey and Syria balance against Syria, which has faced droughts in many years. The roads between villages here are rarely paved. The region is home to a large Kurdish population. The last image here is a stray from the Dier Semaan collection showing the ruins of the entrance arch.

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Website: http://www.pef.org.uk/EarlySyriaPages/Afrin%20Valley.htm

Although Syrian ruins date very early in many places in the country, the Aramean and Hittite ruins as Ain Dara are older than any I had seen outside of Egypt. The Hittites were iron weapon bearing tribes that conquered south from Anatolia before 1300BC when the Arameans had began building this temple. Thus, the influence of Hittite culture in the black basalt stone is evident. Ain Dara then is very old, belonging to the late bronze and early iron age cultures, of which there are few in the world still evident. Ain Dara apparently was more than the temple that we viewed, as this location also supported an entire city until Roman times. The actual building plan itself is thoroughly Semitic and has been used as a model for reconstructions of the conjectural Solomonic temple in Jerusalem. It is believed that this temple was a site for worship of the God Ishtar.

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Website: http://www.pef.org.uk/EarlySyriaPages/'Ain%20Dara.htm