Our Lady of Saidnaya Monastery
دير سيدة صيدنايا
Patriarchal convent crowning a rock above Saidnaya, traditionally founded by Emperor Justinian and a pilgrimage site for its Shaghoura icon.
Our Lady of Saidnaya crowns a high rock in the middle of the town of Saidnaya in the Qalamoun mountains, about 30 km north of Damascus, looking from afar like a fortress. It is a patriarchal convent of the Greek Orthodox Church and one of Syria's best-known Christian shrines.
Tradition attributes its founding to the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in the 6th century, telling of a gazelle he hunted on this rock that turned into an image of the Virgin, asking him to build a monastery here.
Pilgrims come above all for the icon of the Virgin known as the Shaghoura, kept in a small shrine and traditionally attributed to St Luke. In the Middle Ages the convent drew European pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, and Muslims also visit for blessing. A long rock-cut stairway leads up; crowds peak at the feast of the Virgin in September.
Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.
For the visitor
Location: 33.6996, 36.3750 · Open on the map
Photos
Photos: Bernard Gagnon — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Hend-s23 — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Alx. Morozov — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY)
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