Monastery of Mar Sarkis
دير مار سركيسSaints Sergius and Bacchus, on the height above the village, holding one of the oldest altar forms in Christian use.
Damaged and looted in the 2013 occupation. Services have resumed and restoration is reported.
← Where we go
Maaloula
معلولاA cliffside village in the Qalamoun where Western Neo-Aramaic is still spoken
Maaloula built into its cliff, with the monastery of Mar Sarkis on the rock above. Photo by Wietse Jongsma on Unsplash · Unsplash Licence
One of a very small number of places where Western Neo-Aramaic survives as a living spoken language. Two monasteries, a gorge you walk through, and a village built up the rock.
Maaloula sits at around 1,500 m in the Qalamoun mountains, an hour or so north of Damascus. Its houses climb a cliff face, and a narrow gorge — the Fajj — cuts through the rock behind the town.
The village is known for its language. Western Neo-Aramaic is still spoken here and in two neighbouring villages, and effectively nowhere else. It is not a performance for visitors; it is what people speak.
The town was occupied repeatedly in 2013. Fighters used Mar Sarkis as a base, Byzantine-era icons were looted or destroyed, religious buildings were shelled, and twelve nuns were taken from Mar Taqla and later released. Restoration has run since, some of it internationally backed. The monasteries are working places of worship that welcome respectful visitors — which is a different thing from being an attraction.
What is actually there
Condition notes are given for each site, including where something was destroyed or is closed. They are the point of this page.
Convent of Mar Taqla
دير مار تقلاSaint Thecla, at the foot of the cliff, with the shrine set into the rock above it.
Significantly damaged during the 2013 occupation; restoration partly internationally backed.
The gorge (the Fajj)
الفجA narrow cleft you walk through between the two monasteries, the rock closing overhead.
Intact — a natural feature, not war-affected.
Conservation
Real, documented war damage in 2013, followed by restoration. Described plainly because the village is inhabited and people live with the result.
Access
Day trips from Damascus are reported as routine in 2026 sources. This needs qualification rather than blanket assurance — US, UK and other advisories still apply country-wide.
On the table
Vineyards, olives and apricot orchards on the hillsides — much of what has kept the village going.