Ain al-Barda ( ar, عين الباردة;

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''‘Ayn al-Bārdah'', which means "cold spring") is a village in Syria, located 55 kilometres west of Homs and 200 kilometres northwest of Damascus. Nestled on the Sayeh mountain, at 850 metres above sea level, the village overlooks the

Wadi al-Nasara Wadi al-Nasara ( ar, وادي النصارى / ALA-LC: ''Wādī an-Naṣārá'', Greek: Κοιλάδα των Χριστιανών, ''Koiláda ton Christianón'', which both mean "Valley of Christians") is an area in western Syria, close to the ...

valley. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Greek Orthodox 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 ...

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. The village has a

Greek Orthodox Church 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 ...

Climate

Ain al-Barda has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. It snows on the mountain slopes several times in winter.

Main sights

The village is a common stopover for tourists on their way to the nearby

Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...

; most of them visit the church of Saint Elias in the village.

John Gardiner Kinnear John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

described the village in an account of his journey throughout the Middle East in 1839:

Last week T—— and I rode up to a beautiful secluded spot, some three or four hours from Beyrout ic It is, as the Arabic name implies, a fountain of delightfully cold water, which, issuing in copious stream from the rocks, is received into a stone basin under the shade of a magnificent carob-tree. There is no village near it; but within a short distance are one or two lonely cottages among the vineyards and mulberry gardens. It is on the upmost verge of the cultivated part of the mountain; below are gardens and pine woods; and above, the wild rocks and pine woods; and above, the wild rocks and tangled shrubbery. The air is clear, cool, and refreshing after the sultry atmosphere of Beyrout; and the view over the lower heights covered with vines and olives mingling with the dark pine woods, to the wide expanse of the blue Mediterranean, is one of the most beautiful I ever beheld.Kinnear, ''Cairo, Petra, and Damascus in 1839: with Remarks on the Government of Mehmet Ali and on the Present Prospects of Syria'', 294.

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayn Bardah Populated places in Talkalakh District Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria Christian communities in Syria