Damascus -- Lady of Saydnaya Convent

Recently I've been telling you a bit about our mountain trip to visit the villages of Saydnaya and Maaloula. After driving for a half hour or so and seeing areas like this

we reached our first destination which was found way up here

Lady of Saydnaya Convent

"The convent rises above the town like a veritable fortress and is dedicated to the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos."

"It is also an area renowned for its faithfulness to Orthodoxy. In former times when many cities and villages in Syria apostatized from Christianity, Saydnaya always remained a zealous defender of the Orthodox Faith." (source)

The convent had several levels from which we saw the surrounding area.

Here are some of the outside areas

Various steeples

As I mentioned previously, one way Saydnaya was different from Damascus was that I saw many more crosses than minarets. So the quote above about Saydnaya staying true to its Orthodox Christian faith rings true from my own observations.

Abu Muhammad, Susanne & Andrew

An arched view


Pictures from Saydnaya, Syria
February 2009