Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Yabroud

A Melkite Greek Catholic cathedral in Yabroud, counted among the oldest churches in the region. It was built over an ancient Roman temple whose massive stones still show in its walls.

Maaloula

A Greek Orthodox convent at the foot of the cliffs in Maaloula, built around the cave said to hold the tomb of St Thecla, a disciple of St Paul. Nearby runs the Fajj, a narrow gorge that legend says opened in the rock to let Thecla escape her pursuers.

Maaloula

A hotel in Maaloula. Maaloula is a mountain village north-east of Damascus, one of the few places where Western Aramaic is still spoken, known for its monasteries of St Thecla and St Sergius.

Maaloula

A Melkite Greek Catholic monastery on the heights above Maaloula, whose church, dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus, goes back to the 4th century and is among the oldest in Syria. It looks out over the village and the rocky gorge.

Maaloula

The Qalamoun Mountains are part of the Anti-Lebanon range north of Damascus: dry plateaus and heights cut by valleys and rocky gorges. Known towns such as Maaloula, Saidnaya, Yabroud, al-Nabk and Qara lie among them, and the area is famous for its old monasteries.

Rima

A shopping mall in Rima. Rima is a village in Rif Dimashq governorate, about 66 km north-east of Damascus.