Aleppo day trip: four Dead Villages of southern Jebel Sem’an

Four villages on the southern slopes of Jebel Sem’an cover four centuries of church building in one day. Sinkhar has a 4th-century basilica counted among the oldest churches in Syria. At Batuta the south colonnade of a basilica still stands. Surqaniya keeps a 6th-century chapel with the stone roof still over its sanctuary, and Sheikh Suleiman has a basilica dated 602, from the last years of church building in these villages. The round trip from Aleppo is 72 kilometres by car, and the stretch between Sinkhar and Batuta can be walked.

The route

Leave Aleppo westwards, towards Daret Azzah. Sheikh Suleiman is about 30 kilometres by road, 3 kilometres north-east of the Basilica of Mushabbak. Its three churches and the monk’s tower stand at different ends of the village, and you walk between them. Then drive north towards Bazihr: Sinkhar sits in a closed valley, a little under 4 kilometres on. The church and the chapel stand side by side. From Sinkhar to Batuta is 2600 metres. If the road is in a fit state, walk it — just over half an hour — and have the driver wait at Batuta. Batuta stands on high ground; you walk between the basilica, the two-storey house 40 metres south of it and the small church 100 metres south-east. Surqaniya lies to the east, 700 metres south-west of Fafertin, and the road loops round to make 5 kilometres. The chapel is about 100 metres south of the modern road. The drive back to Aleppo is 31 kilometres.

Timing

Leave Aleppo at 08:00 and you reach Sheikh Suleiman around nine. Give it an hour and start with the basilica of 602. Move on to Sinkhar at ten; forty-five minutes is enough. Towards half past ten set off for Batuta, on foot or by car. Batuta takes an hour, looking at each capital included. Bring lunch and water from Aleppo; do not count on buying anything in these villages. Reach Surqaniya around 13:30: the afternoon light falls on the south face of the chapel, and the moulding that links its windows reads at that hour. Forty minutes later start back, and you are in Aleppo around 15:30.

Take care

These villages are in the countryside of Afrin district. Before you set out, ask locally about the current security situation and whether the roads are open; a former army base known by the name Sheikh Suleiman was a combat zone during the war years. Unexploded ordnance is a reported risk in the countryside: do not leave the path or the road, and do not touch metal lying on the ground. There is no public transport and signs are rare, so hire a car in Aleppo with a driver who knows the villages. People may live at Sinkhar and Batuta; call out before entering a courtyard, and do not photograph anyone without asking. No published report describes the state of the ruins since the war. Shade is scarce and the ground stony: take water, a hat and shoes that grip. The entry fee varies; check on site.