Ma'loula

Government

Maalula (Arabic معلولا, DMG Ma ʿ Lula, Syro -Aramaic ܡ ܥ ܠ ܐ ma ʿ lā, ' input ') is a village in the north -east of Damascus, Syria, Qalamun Mountains, which belongs to the Anti- Lebanon, located about 56 km from Damascus. The inhabitants of Maalula speak Aramaic, specifically a Western Neo-Aramaic dialect. In Maalula lived in 2004, according to census 2762 people.

The majority of Christians belongs to the Greek- Catholic Church ( Melkite ). The village is well-known in the Middle East for the celebrations for Exaltation on September 14.

In Maalula is a church from which tradition says that she was the oldest in the world. You should already have been built a few years after the crucifixion of Christ. A special feature of this church is the altar-piece in the form of a pagan sacrificial altar.

In the village the Greek Orthodox Monastery Mar Thecla, the around the Cave and the grave ( Mağarat Mār Taqla ) of St. Thekla is built. On the hill above the village there is an ancient monastery, which is dedicated to the martyrs Sarkis ( Sergius ) and Bacchus. Your feast day is October 7. With the pilgrimage Ayathekla there in the Turkish city Silifke another site, which claims to house the grave of the saint.

The place is visited by all Syrian Christian denominations and of Christians from Lebanon. Among the pilgrims are also many Sunni Muslims. Western tourists are attracted by the mountain scenery. Maalula is the birthplace of the Syrian Curia Bishop François Abou Mokh in the Melkite Patriarchate of Antioch.

In the surrounding area is cultivated, among other fruits, especially apples.

Literary processing

The place serves the writer Rafik Shami as one of the venues of his novel The dark side of love.