The Cathedral of St. Simeon Stylites

The most beautiful and significant monument to religious building between Roman period of the 2nd century and northern European Christian masterpieces of the 11th century AD. At the time it was completed in 473 AD, it was considered the largest Cathedral in the world.

Situated on a hill top overlooking the town of Deir Samaan in the 'Afrin Valley, 60 km north west of Aleppo.

Following the death of the Syrian Hermit Saint Simeon (Sam'an) the Stylite in 459, Emperor Zenon ordered that a cathedral be built where the saint used to pray.

The layout was original, centering on the famous column from which St. Simeon used to preach. Four basilicas, arranged in the shape of a Greek cross (it was also called the four-basilica church), opened into an octagon covered by a dome, in the center of which stood the holy column.

The east basilica is slightly larger than the others; it was the most important and held all the major ceremonies. Adjacent to the south wall of the eastern basilica is the chapel and the monastery. Opposite the southern basilica along the sacred road called the via sacra is the baptistery, which was built a little after the main church but is an important part of the pilgrimage complex. To the west of the baptistery is the processional route that leads towards Deir Samaan.

Deir Samaan first had the name of Telanissos and was founded to capitalize on the two fertile plains that surrounded it. In the 5th century AD, the community built a monastery there and in 412 St. Simeon came to join it. He later left the community to live alone in the hill above it. The best vestiges seen in Deir Samaan are the monumental arch that is at the beginning of the via sacra which leads to the cathedral on the hill. There are two monasteries, a bazaar, a few small dwellings, and a tomb chapel.

The remaining stump of what is reported to be the very pillar that supported the saint for all those years, greatly reduced today by the numerous pilgrims who have taken pieces away as holy relics.

More Pictures here