Fifth-century church complex of St. Simeon the Stylite near Aleppo reopens to visitors after 14 years

Syrian authorities reopened the historic complex of St. Simeon the Stylite to visitors on Monday, Sept. 28, after it had been closed for about 14 years, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), the Turkish state news agency Anadolu Agency (AA) and Welat TV. The complex, known in Arabic as Qal'at Sim'an or Deir Samaan, stands on Mount Simeon, northwest of Aleppo. The reopening was timed to coincide with World Tourism Day. SANA said the site was cleaned and landscaped, visitor routes and facilities were repaired, and structures considered at risk were reinforced.

Mulham Oqeidi, a member of the Aleppo Governorate Executive Office, told SANA that the work included returning the Column of St. Simeon to its place. SyriacPress, a Syriac Christian news agency, reported in August that the pillar was put back in its original position on Tuesday, Aug. 11. The restoration followed vandalism at the site and damage from the February 2023 earthquake. According to SyriacPress, the project was a joint effort of the Aleppo Governorate, the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums and the Council of Heads of Christian Denominations in Aleppo. The pillar now stands at the centre of the monastery church, the agency said, and Metropolitan Ephraim Maalouli, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan of Aleppo, led prayers before it. SANA said representatives of Christian communities, emergency management officials, a development organisation, volunteers and archaeology students from Aleppo University also took part in the work.

The site is tied to St. Simeon the Stylite, a fifth-century monk who, AA reported, spent about 40 years living on top of a pillar. Amal Hussein, an official responsible for managing World Heritage sites, told AA and SANA that the church was built in the late fifth century around his column and became a major Christian pilgrimage centre in the fifth and sixth centuries. She said it is known for its octagonal plan, its dome and its carved plant decoration, and that the site was turned into a fortress in the 10th century. The complex includes a church, monastery and baptistery and is part of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added to its World Heritage List in 2011, SANA reported. Hussein said the site was damaged during the war years and in the 2023 earthquake. She said she hopes historians and archaeologists will visit along with tourists.

Two church figures from Aleppo spoke to AA at the reopening. Maalouli said the stones of the complex "tell stories of history, culture and religion," according to AA's account carried by TRT Arabi, the Arabic-language service of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) (translated from Arabic). He said the reopening matters for reviving tourism in Syria and hoped people could again visit the site on pilgrimage and pray there. He also thanked those who helped reopen the fortress, monastery and church. A cleric of the Maronite Archdiocese of Aleppo who coordinated the revival work at the site called the reopening a sign of Syria's return to its roots "and to a new life," according to AA and TRT Arabi (translated from Turkish and Arabic). He added, "Today we are rebuilding the human being, because Syria can only rise again and live anew through its people."

Munir Qassas, director of the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Aleppo, told Welat TV that further restoration and development of damaged sections could take three to four years, depending on funding and support. Rakan al-Tayeh of Syria's Tourism Ministry told SANA that a website for the site has been launched. It offers virtual-reality features so that people outside Syria can explore the complex.