Welcome to Saidnaya's Website

Saidnaya is a historic village, located about 25 Km north-east of Syrian capital, Damascus. Saidnaya is about 1400m above sea level on Mount Qallamoun. Overthere, visitors can see the ruins of Mar-Cherubim, and AlGotta (Forests of Damascus).

Naming: "Saidnaya" means "Our Lady" in old Syriac language. Some other interpretations say that this name means "hunting", or more specifically, it is "deer hunting". The latter comes from the story of building the monestary of Our Lady of Saidnaya.

Ruins: Scientific and archological documents show that in saidnaya there exist ruins from different ages; mainly, there are ruins from modern stone age , aramean ruins, and Greek ruins.

Religions: Christianity and Islam are the religion of Saidnayans. Muslims and Christians have been living harmoniously with each other for a long time. They share many of the same customs and traditions. Their friendly relationships are well noticed and appreciated. In Saidnaya there are mosque and churches.   

Saidnayan Churches: There are many churches in Saidnaya. Some of them are very major ones and are available to visitors everyday. Some others are open once a year to celeberate their feast day. 

Pictures from Saidnaya

Reference: Saidnaya (History & Ruins), Rama Elias Keriaki