Deir al-Salib ( ar, دير الصليب, also spelled Deir al-Sleib or Deir al-Suleib) is a village in northern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, administratively part of the

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates ...

, located 37 kilometers west of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

. Nearby localities include

Bil'in Bil'in ( ar, بلعين) is a Palestinian village located in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, west of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Bil'in has a population of 1, ...

to the southeast, al-Rabiaa to the east,

Asilah Asilah (; ar, أزيلا or أصيلة; pt, Arzila; es, Arcila) is a fortified town on the northwest tip of the Atlantic coast of Morocco, about south of Tangier. Its ramparts and gateworks remain fully intact. History The town's history da ...

to the northeast, Jubb Ramlah to the north,

al-Laqbah Al-Laqbah ( ar, اللقبة, also spelled al-Laqbeh or Laqbee) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located west of Hama. It is situated along the edge of the Orontes River valley, on the main road betwee ...

and

Deir Mama Deir Mama ( ar, ديرماما) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located west of Hama. It is situated at the eastern side of the coastal al-Ansariyah mountains. Nearby localities include Masyaf to t ...

to the northwest,

Masyaf Masyaf ( ar, مصياف ') is a city in northwestern Syria. It is the center of the Masyaf District in the Hama Governorate. As of 2004, Masyaf had a religiously diverse population of approximately 22,000 Ismailis, Alawites and Christians. The c ...

to the west, al-Suwaydah to the southwest and

Baarin Baarin ( ar, بعرين, ''Baʿrīn'' or ''Biʿrīn'') is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap roughly southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Taunah and Awj to the south, Aqrab and H ...

and

Aqrab Aqrab ( ar, عقرب, also spelled Akrab) is a Town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Nisaf and Baarin to the west, Awj to the southwest, Qarmas to the s ...

to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Deir al-Salib had a population of 2,946 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Alawites The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isla ...

and

Greek Orthodox Christians The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

History

In the early 19th-century the Ottoman governor of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, Abdullah Pasha al-Azm, granted the leaseholds of Deir al-Salib and its satellite farms to a close associate of his, Muhammad Gharib Bey al-Azm.

Byzantine church

Just outside Deir al-Salib is a 5th-6th century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-era church surrounded by fig trees.Michelin, 2011, p. 216. It is built in the architectural style typical of the Justinian period in Syria, with its two chapels. Its stone walls have a beige and

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

color. At the right of the entrance is a

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

which still contains a cross-shaped

baptismal Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

. The

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

of the church is preceded by a central

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

and five columns demarcate its aisles. The

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

is semi-circular and on the ground floor stands a gallery reserved for women. A small

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

containing three

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...

is situated at the side of the baptistery. The sarcophagi had engraved medallions that fitted crosses.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deir Salib Populated places in Masyaf District Alawite communities in Syria Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria