Maalula
A village wedged into a cliff where people still speak the language of Jesus. Two monasteries, one narrow gorge, an hour from Damascus.
Maalula clings to a rock face at 1,500 metres. Western Aramaic survives here in daily speech and in the liturgy of two monasteries: Mar Sarkis above the village, one of the oldest still in use, and Mar Takla, built around the cave where the saint is said to have hidden.
The gorge between them, Al-Fajj, is a narrow cut through the cliff that legend says opened to let Takla escape. It takes twenty minutes to walk and is the best part of the visit.
Maalula was fought over in 2013 and 2014 and damaged. Both monasteries are restored and open. Pilgrim groups combine it with Saydnaya and the convent of Our Lady, a further half hour towards Damascus.