Monastery of St. Mary in Saednaya

The Monastery of the Virgin Mary is located in the village of Saednaya, 27 kilometers from Damascus, on a high cliff (1500 meters above sea level). According to legend, the Mother of God appeared to the Emperor Justinian and wished that a temple was built on this place. In 547, the monastery was founded, now it is a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world, and the monastery is very revered by Muslims.

In the Saednai Monastery there is a particularly revered icon of the Virgin, written, as they say, by the Apostle Luke himself. The icon is considered miraculous and myrrhic, it is not always shown to pilgrims, but you can see the box in which the icon is hidden. In addition, there are many ancient and modern icons in the monastery. Antiquities lovers will be interested in Byzantine frescoes and mosaics.

It is allowed to visit almost all the premises of the monastery with the exception of monastic cells. At the entrance to some rooms it is necessary to remove shoes. Services are in Arabic. The bulk of pilgrims gather here on September 8 each year for the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin. From the site in front of the monastery, where vehicles stop, to the doors of the complex you can climb not only on foot by stone stairs, but also by elevator.