Syria

Ancient villages of Northern Syria

WHS Score 3.09 Votes 19 Average 3.55

The Ancient villages of Northern Syria are the remains of rural societies from late Antiquity and early Christianity.

The inhabitants of this limestone mountain landscape gradually converted to Christianity. They were inspired by hermits such as Saint Simeon, who drew lots of pilgrims. Some 40 abandoned villages are included with often well-preserved monuments. Notable elements include the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, Serjilla, an early Byzantine town, and the Pyramidal tombs at Al-Bara.

Community Perspective: This can be done as a day trip from Aleppo on private transport. It used to be quite popular under the name “Dead Cities” with intrepid tourists. The area however was ‘closed’ since the Syrian Civil War as it was in SDF territory, and is only now (2025) slowly reopening.

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Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Ancient villages of Northern Syria (ID: 1348)
Country
Syria
Status
Inscribed 2011 Site history
History of Ancient villages of Northern Syria
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iii
  • iv
  • v
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Nov. 12, 2020 dailysabah.com — Unable to find proper shelter, displaced Syrians settle in Idlib's ancient ruins
  • March 23, 2018 naharnet.com — Syria Says Saint Maron's Tomb 'Destroyed' in Turkish Raids
  • May 19, 2016 whc.unesco.org — UNESCO deplores severe damage at Church of Saint Simeon
  • Nov. 5, 2015 en.abna24.com — Terrorists destroy UNESCO WHS of al-Bara, northern Syria
  • April 11, 2015 ibtimes.co.uk — Female Jihadists set up anti-Assad training camp in world's oldest Byzantine church to 'empower women'

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: Near Eastern
  • Cultural Landscape: Relict
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
View all (17) .
Connections of Ancient villages of Northern Syria
Geography
  • Kurdistan
    Most are within the Afrin Canton, which "seems to have seen Kurdish settlement by at least the 18th century" (wiki) and is under Kurdish autonomous control since 2014.

    See en.wikipedia.org

History
  • Silk Roads
    (Near) Classic Land Route; in ICOMOS thematic study but no details on role or function
  • Byzantine Empire and Civilization
    Basilicas etc - characteristic of the transition between the ancient pagan world and Byzantine Christianity (OUV)
Architecture
  • Octagons
    "an octagon surrounds the base of the column at the top of which Saint Simeon spent many years in prayer." (AB ev)
  • Dry Stone Construction
    "The vestiges include dry stone protective walls that bear witness to the agricultural land division systems of the Roman era." (Talayotic Menorca Nomination file, p. 351)
Damaged
  • Damaged in War since WWII
    Syrian Civil War "The ancient sites of northern Syria, comprising eight parks and a total of 40 villages, have suffered due to their close proximity to a key Turkish border crossing, used as the entry point for supplies.A number of Syrians who have been forced from their homes are also living in and among the ruins. Analysis of satellite images of the Jebel Barisha park show the creation of three compounds: two within the park boundaries and one just outside. They appear to have a military function,"

    See www.bbc.co.uk

World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
Constructions
  • Baths
    several
  • Cisterns
    Relatively sophisticated hydraulic elements have been identified, notably large communal cisterns. (AB ev)
  • Tombs
    several
  • Pyramids
    "Al-Bara.... is renowned for its 6th century pyramidal tombs" (AB ev)
Timeline
Visiting conditions
WHS Names
News
dailysabah.com 11/12/2020
Unable to find proper shelter, dis…
naharnet.com 03/23/2018
Syria Says Saint Maron's Tomb 'Des…
whc.unesco.org 05/19/2016
UNESCO deplores severe damage at C…
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.

Community Reviews

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First published: 28/11/16.

Michael Novins

Ancient Villages Of Northern Syria

Ancient villages of Northern Syria (Inscribed)

Ancient villages of Northern Syria by Michael Novins

I visited Syria largely by public transportation in May 2009. After taking a bus from Palmyra to Aleppo, with a stop in Homs, I checked into the Baron Hotel, the oldest hotel in Syria, where I stayed in room 203, the same room where Agatha Christie wrote the first part of "Murder on the Orient Express." Mr. Walid, the Baron's renowned manager, organized a car and driver for a day trip to several nearby sites, including Serjilla and al-Bara (and its Tombeaux pyramidaux), two of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. During that same day trip, I visited Apamea to see its Great Colonnade, the main colonnaded avenue which runs for more than a mile and is among the longest and best preserved ancient Roman streets, and Hama to see its Norias, enormous water power wheels. Apamée (Afamia) and the Noréas de Hama are on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. For anyone interested in World Heritage Sites, there are very few days that can rival this day trip from Aleppo (itself a World Heritage Site), but it may be a long time before it can be safely repeated.

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First published: 29/08/10.

Anonymous

Ancient Villages Of Northern Syria

Ancient villages of Northern Syria (Inscribed)

Ancient villages of Northern Syria by Argo

I visited Sergilla and othe villages in the reagon for 3 days from 18th till 21st August 2010. I was not aware of it's existance and I was surprised. The society, that built thiese villages roughly 1500 years back, were using skills long forgotten. Till date building fully made of rock exist.

Sergilla is also an earthquake area, still many building are standing after such a long time.

Maybe it was not the best time to travell, August is the hotest month and it was Ramadan aswell. Late fall or spring must be better.

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