Najran, Suwayda: Byzantine Church Towers and a Druze Village

Najran is a village about 20 kilometres north-west of As-Suwayda, the first village of al-Lajat in that direction. It takes its name from the Balharith, who were driven out of Najran in Yemen in the 520s and settled in Trachonitis under the protection of the Ghassanids, the Arab allies of Byzantium. The village keeps the towers of a Byzantine church, a large Roman house and one of the oldest traces of Druze settlement in the Hauran.

The church

It was built in the Byzantine period by Monophysite Arabs. Early in the 13th century the geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi praised its mosaics and marble columns and described it as a votive shrine. Porter, who came in the 1850s, saw extensive ruins nearly two miles around, the church’s two square towers, and Greek inscriptions on the towers dated 458 and 564. Arabic sources also mention a minaret built over a monastery; part of it was destroyed by French artillery during the Mandate.

Dar Mukri al-Wahsh

The village’s Roman house. It has many rooms and underground passages. Its stone arch spans about 9 metres and is said to be the largest in the Hauran. The stable has a stone ceiling as well, roofed with huge blocks. Nearby are an area called Dar al-Rayyis, Roman irrigation channels and the church of Mar Jirjis (al-Khidr).

First stop of a Druze migration

In 1685, 200 Druze families came to Najran from Lebanon; the village was the first stop of the second wave of Druze migration. By 1711 it was the fortified centre of the Hamdan family. The village also has a mudafa, a guesthouse, associated with Abbas Abu Asi, a fighter in the 1925 revolt.

How long it takes

About an hour and a half: the church towers, Dar Mukri al-Wahsh and the streets in between.

What not to miss

The Safaitic inscriptions on the stones of the houses. Wetzstein recorded them in the village houses in 1875. Safaitic is a script used by the ancient nomadic Arabs of the region.

Where it stands now

The current state of the church towers and Dar Mukri al-Wahsh rests only on Arabic sources and cannot be independently confirmed. There was fighting in Najran in July 2025, and access is not regular. This page tells you what Najran is; it does not tell you that you can go there today.