This Syrian village, Saidnaya, where houses are built around a rock with a very old convent at the top, is considered a place for religious pilgrimage.
A steep climb is the only way up to the convent, which is said to date back to the Emperor Justinian.
Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared to Justinian and asked him to found the convent.
After entering through a maze of passages, you finally reach the Chapel of the Virgin. The walls are covered with beautiful icons including one said to have been painted by St. Luke.
This chapel was very famous to Christians and at one point was the second Christian place of pilgrimage after Jerusalem, the crusaders called it "Notre Dame de Sardeneye".
Greetings and love from Syria
Nabeel
Hi there Nigel! Thanks for the nice wordeth or two here and on disgracebook...not really a user of that too much. Yeah, I've sort of dropped off the singing vibe over the last year or so really.... but am trying to crawl out of the hole I've created again and re join! Hope to catch you soon....sounding grooving as ever... Are you making tracks these days then? 'D Fuzed'....?...Sounding Nice! :)
Nice to see you too - a pleasant surprise! Must have been different to view things from the audience perspective. Yes to slap I'm afraid, but I swear it wasn't my idea!!
