Dead Cities and Byzantine Countryside
Explore the extraordinary Dead Cities of Syria northwest of Aleppo, UNESCO World Heritage Byzantine villages abandoned in the 8th century and preserved in remarkable completeness in the dry Syrian countryside.
- 1
Serjilla Village
Walk through Serjilla, one of the finest Dead Cities, where an entire Byzantine village of the 4th-6th centuries stands abandoned but structurally intact, the houses, bathhouse, and church of a prosperous Syrian Christian community preserved by the dry climate.
- 2
Al-Bara
Visit Al-Bara where pyramid-shaped tomb towers, monastery ruins, and village houses create an extraordinary archaeological landscape, the site demonstrating the prosperity of the Byzantine Syrian countryside in the centuries before the Arab conquest.
- 3
Church of Saint Simeon Stylites
Reach the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, the octagonal complex built around the pillar where the famous ascetic lived from 423 to 459 CE, the ruins of one of the largest Christian buildings of the early Byzantine period still impressive.
- 4
Qalb Loze Church
Find the Qalb Loze church, the finest 5th century Byzantine church in Syria, its facade with twin towers remarkably preserved, the architectural sophistication anticipating Romanesque church design by six centuries.
- 5
Syrian Countryside
Drive through the Syrian countryside northwest of Aleppo where olive groves, small farms, and the punctuation of ancient ruins create a landscape little changed since the Byzantine period, the agricultural character of Syria ancient heartland.
- 6
Olive Grove Heritage
Understand the economic basis of the Dead Cities prosperity in the ancient olive oil industry, the stone oil presses preserved in multiple villages demonstrating that this Syrian countryside was producing olive oil for the Mediterranean market 1,500 years ago.
Walk this route with audio
Stories play automatically as you reach each stop — no tapping needed.
