UNESCO World HeritageHidden gem
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
The Dead Cities
Saint Simeon Region · Aleppo
Overview
A group of abandoned late-antique settlements across the limestone massif of northern Syria, with standing houses, churches, tombs and olive presses in open countryside.
Why visit
- Everyday late-antique architecture still standing
- Open, uncrowded archaeological landscape
- Exceptional photography
History
Historical background
These settlements are collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
Historical content is stored separately from live visiting information.
Historical layers
Periods recorded for this place in the DAHAB database. Open any period for its full history.
A DAHAB story
What the guidebooks miss
These were not cities of emperors but of farmers: olive-oil villages that were simply left behind, and so kept their houses standing for fifteen centuries.
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