Located 50 km from Damascus in the direction of Lebanon is the magnificent village of Maalula (also spelled Maaloula), Syria. Maalula is the only place in the world that still speaks Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
Photo: CONVENT OF ST. THECLA (DEIR MAR TAKLA)/kirikou.com
Maalula is a predominantly Christian village with a population of about 2,000. It is the home of two ancient Christian monasteries: Mar Sarkis and Mar Taqla. Both Christians and Muslim pilgrims come to Maalula seeking blessings.
Maalula means “the entrance” in Aramaic, referring to its dramatic location at the entrance to a rocky gorge.
The Greek Catholic monastery of St. Sergius (Mar Sarkis or Mar Sergus) has a chapel with a beautiful display of icons. Built in the 4th century on the remains of a pagan temple, the Mar Sarkis monastery is one of the oldest in Christendom. That it likely predates the Council of Nicea (325 AD) is evidenced by the fact that it has a round altar, which was prohibited at the Council.
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Mar Sarkis is designed after the pattern of the martyrion (a shrine dedicated to a martyr) and is dedicated to St. Sergius, a Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian beliefs (Sergius has a grander basilica in Rasafa, Syria).
Photo: CONVENT OF ST. THECLA (DEIR MAR TAKLA)/kirikou.com
In the village is the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Thecla (Mar Takla). Thecla was the daughter of a Seleucid prince and a young disciple of St. Paul whose dramatic life story is told in the apocryphal, and possibly legendary, Acts of Paul and Thecla. She is believed to be buried in the mountain just above the monastery. On the road that leaves the the village, look for a steep path on the right that leads to a terrace where a small waterfall welcomes the pilgrims.
Photo: Maalula/kirikou.com
The building was constructed on several levels. On the top floor is a modern church with a dome and a cave into which filters water with miraculous properties. This religious monument receives an unending stream of Christian and Muslim pilgrims. Other religious relics can be found in the convent but what strikes one most is the peaceful atmosphere of the place.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Maaloula is home to many shrines and churches -as well as two monasteries – considered sacred by many Christians
The Aramaeans
The inhabitants of Maalula are the natural descendants of those Semitic tribes which populated the Syrian desert and part of Mesopotamia 14 centuries before our time. Old manuscripts reveal that these tribes went by the name of Aramu or Ahlamu. The Aramaeans were in reality composed of a multitude of kingdoms which did not have strong ties of union between themselves. Towards the year 1000, the Aramaeans occupied a vast territory which extended as far as the banks of the Euphrates. But the power of its armies was systematically weakened by the assaults of the kings of Assur. Decadence started to become apparent. The different principalities and Aramaean kingdoms were incapable of co-ordinating their efforts and were defeated one by one. Arpat, Cobah and Hamat lost control of their possessions. The Assyrians won. In the year 730 B.C. their luck had run out and Assur formed the border with Egypt.
The Aramaic language was the main language used for intercommunication between the Semitic peoples in the ancient middle east. Around the 8th century B.C, the empire of the Aramaic language extended from Egypt to remote and isolated regions in Asia. The first documentary evidence of the Aramaic language was found on the tomb of king Kilamu (4th – 8th century B.C.), or in Neirab on the funeral remains of the Moon god south of Aleppo.
As of the 7th century A.D, Aramaic was used throughout the Assyrian empire. Furthermore, the Persians adopted Aramaic as their official language around the 5th century BC. Writing with alphabetic characters spread rapidly. The book of Esdras shows us that Aramaic was also used in Palestine. Once the size of the Persian empire had increased, the use of Aramaic became universal. Documents found in India (3rd century B.C) show that Aramaic was used throughout Asia Minor. The Jews of Palestine used Aramaic until the second century A.D.
After the finding of the Qumran manuscripts on the banks of the Dead Sea, the overall opinion about spoken and written Aramaic has been noticeably modified and it is possible that it will continue to be modified in proportion to other discoveries of this type which come to light. In any case, it is a language in full development, rich and dynamic. It is clear that the words of Christ were disseminated in Aramaic because it was the language spoken and written by him and his disciples.
What we today call Syrian is in reality a dialect of Aramaic spoken in Mesopotamia (nowadays known as Urfa in Turkey), which later became the language of the Christians in Syria.
At the same time, pressure was exerted on Syriac by the Arabic invaders especially after the 5th century A.D. Syriac succumbed to this pressure in the end. The Arabs won the battle. However some pockets of resistance still exist. Maalula is an example of this. It is very difficult to know with any certainty if Syriac will have an assured future. In any case it is hoped that Syriac will become a language of the future. It comes as no surprise that there is a feeling of solidarity among the people who currently speak it:- the Jacobists of Turkey, the mountain dwellers of Mosuk (Iraq), the Nestorians and the Caldeos.
The distinction between Eastern Syriac and Western Syriac (the latter is spoken in Maalula) also appear in the written script. Eastern Syriac uses the old uncial characters, or in other words it is written in capital letters whereas western Syriac is written in italics. Regrettably, in Maalula there is currently an almost complete loss of Syriac script. It is to be hoped that some of the young people, who have a strong respect for the culture of their elders, will assume the task of reintroducing the Syriac script into daily life.
Modern history.
In 2013, regime forces in the area were overrun by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front. The local population understandably feared for their lives during the fighting, while important religious buildings such as the looming Greek Catholic monastery of St. Sergius, or Mar Sarkis, were badly damaged by heavy shelling.
The Syrian army eventually pushed the Islamist group out of Maaloula in April 2014 – but some of the village’s residents remain missing, feared kidnapped by the retreating jihadists.
The Convent of St. Thecla is one of the most famous buildings in the area. Thecla was a disciple of St. Paul and locals believe she hid here after fleeing Roman persecution because of her Christian faith.
A handout picture taken with a fisheye lens on April 16, 2014 shows icons and religious objects strewn on the ground inside the Mar Taqla Greek Orthodox monastery in Syria’s ancient Christian town of Maalula after it was reportedly retaken by government forces. (AFP Photo)
The convent was badly damaged during fighting in 2013 and 12 nuns were taken hostage and held by Islamist fighters for months before they were released unharmed.
Locals said militants attempted to burn the inside of the tomb where St. Thecla is said to be buried. People from the village continue to visit the site to light candles and pray. They hope the United Nations Development program will help them to rebuild ancient sites like this.
The ceiling of the newer Church of the Convent of St. Thecla was also blackened by the fire that raged here. However, the murals are still mostly intact. The church is currently not in use as the community is waiting for restoration work to begin.
A view of the interior of the damaged St. Sarkis Church, in the ancient Christian city of Maaloula, on May 14, 2014. AFP / JOSEPH EID
Soon after taking control, ISIS militants began demolishing ancient ruins considered to be among the world’s most treasured. This destruction included the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph and the nearly 2,000-year-old Temple of Baalshamin. ISIS also beheaded the antiquities expert who looked after the ruins.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad toured the town in April 2014. He pledged to help restore Maaloula to its ancient beauty.
After the liberation under the support of the government of Syria the citizens of Maaloula started rebuilding churches, assembling church furnishings, religious books and other objects piece by piece.
AFP
While in the city there is no influx of tourists and worshipers but locals are sure that people from all over the world, pilgrims, will be able to visit holy places again with the onset of peace and the creation of zones of de-escalation.
But the Christians try not only to rebuild Maaloula, they try to rebuild the relationship between them and the Muslims shattered by ISIS.
A Syrian priest reiterates the fact that Christians will strive to rebuild the trust that has been tainted by violence perpetrated by Islamic State. “We have to rebuild trust between Muslims and Christians even if it’s not easy,” said a Syrian priest Father Mtanios Haddad, report site veteranstoday.
Father Haddad is a Syrian and represents the Greek-Catholic patriarch in Rome. According to him, presence of Christianity in the Middle East is not optional but a necessity. “I am convinced that coexistence will not end,” he said.
“It should not end, because if it does, there will be no Christian presence. Without this presence, a new Jihad war could begin between a Muslim East and a Christian West. This Christian presence is what ensures the victory of balance and coexistence,” he explained.
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