St Simeon's monastery

Aleppo and around

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December 1st 2008
We travelled out to St Simeon's monastery in the morning, site of the Biblical character famous for sitting on a pillar for lengthy periods of time. The pillar was still there, albeit somewhat truncated, along with some great views across a valley to Turkey. We then returned to Aleppo and went straight to the citadel where our tour leader gave us a guided tour. Apparently it had never been conqu ... read more

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo

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Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in ... ... read more