The andron
Two storeys with columns.
Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dosseman — CC BY-SA 4.0
Serjilla is one of the best preserved of the Dead Cities of north-western Syria, in Jebel Zawiya. It is a Byzantine stone village set in a natural basin, which prospered on grapes and olives. It has been called the Pompeii of the East. Houses still stand here with their walls intact, as though their owners had only recently left. Serjilla was built in the 5th century, with the date 473 linked to the settlement. Its baths show the wealth of the community. The French archaeologist Melchior de Vogüé made the first scientific studies in the 1860s. These abandoned villages together form the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria on the UNESCO list. You see the andron, a two-storey men's meeting place with stone columns, and the baths beside it. Then you walk among scattered houses, including a two-storey villa still standing, a small church of which little remains, and stone sarcophagi. Green growth and flowers cover the ground in spring, when the rosy stone looks its best. It is about 62 km in a straight line from Hama, about 78 km from Aleppo and about 32 km from Apamea. You need a car and a driver who knows the way. There are no confirmed facilities, so bring water and food. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Syria, and British consular help is not available there, so check official guidance before making any plans.
Two storeys with columns.
A sign of village wealth.
Carved, among the grass.
Jebel Zawiya, Idlib Governorate, Syria
Abandoned ancient villages in north-western Syria, mostly from the 1st to the 7th centuries.
By car with a driver who knows the way, as there is no confirmed public transport.