Maaloula on foot: from Mar Thecla through the gorge to Mar Sarkis

As the crow flies, the two monasteries of Maaloula are about 400 metres apart, but the way between them is not flat. You start below at Mar Thecla, at the foot of the cliff. From there you pass through the al-Fajj gorge, which splits the rock from top to bottom, then through the upper lanes of the village, and climb to Mar Sarkis on top of the western cliff. The distance on foot is just over a kilometre, but the slope makes it take longer than the distance suggests. Maaloula is one of three villages where Western Neo-Aramaic is still spoken. It was badly damaged in 2013-2014, and repair continues. Here the village is not one stop on a day by car but a half day of its own.

The route

The Convent of Saint Thecla is in the lower part of the village, right at the foot of the cliff. The stair at the top of the main building climbs to Thecla’s cave and the spring held to be holy. On the way back go up to the roof, from where the hermit cells cut into the rock can be picked out. Leave the convent and enter the al-Fajj gorge. Tradition takes this narrow cleft as the place where the rock opened for Thecla as she fled her father’s soldiers. The gorge is stony and sloping. Somewhere on the way up, stop and turn round: the plain shows through the mouth of the cleft. From the top of the gorge walk on through the upper lanes to the flat top of the western cliff. The Mar Sarkis Monastery is there; its church was built over a pagan temple, and sources date it to between 313 and 325. For the way back, the road climbs right up to the monastery gate.

Timing

Be at the gate of Mar Thecla at 09:00. Give the convent and the cave an hour. Enter the gorge at 10:00: in the morning the inside of the cleft is in shade and the climb stays cool. Allow an hour for the gorge and the upper lanes, with stops for photographs and breath. By 11:00 you are at Mar Sarkis. Forty-five minutes is enough; most of it goes on the icons and the altar stone behind the iconostasis. Towards midday walk down the road, or have a car wait at the gate. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons; in summer the rock heats up and in winter the gorge is windy. On 14 September, the Feast of the Cross, and on 24 September, Saint Thecla’s day, thousands of people come and the visit takes longer.

Take care

The visiting hours of the monasteries, and whether the gorge is open, could not be confirmed for 2025-2026; when you reach the village, check at the entrance first. The gorge is stony and sloping, so wear shoes that grip. Both monasteries are working places of worship: shoulders and knees covered, ask before photographing in the church, and do not photograph during a service. Mar Thecla is a convent where nuns live. On 3 December 2013, 12 nuns were taken hostage from here, and they were released on 9 March 2014; the nuns returned in 2018. The building next to Mar Sarkis was destroyed in fighting in September 2013; the monastery reopened in 2016. Repair is still going on in the village and some parts may be closed. Entry fees vary; check at the entrance.