One of the charms of Northern Iraq, Northern Syria and Lebanon is the existence of remote Christian sites. Sometimes these are relict landscapes, but there are also thriving religious communities. This diversity is the strength of the region, but also the source of so much discontent. Maaloula is such a Christian refuge, and it might even be Syria’s next nomination to become a World Heritage Site: it was submitted for a Preliminary Assessment last year. It would be an “interesting” choice, a bit like the Taliban reporting on the conservation status of Bamiyan. Maaloula suffered badly in 2013/2014 when it was taken by the Al Nusra Front, whose former leader is now the president of Syria.

The itinerary of my tour was planned in such a way that we would be in Maaloula during the Christian Festival of the Cross, which is a celebrated yearly event by the local community. On the approach to the town, security surely had been tightened: armed soldiers looked into the boots of cars and there were canine units (to sniff bombs?) as well. These security guys are all 18 to 20-year-old Muslims with long beards, appointed by the new regime.

The setting of the town, at 1500m altitude, is still very fine, but there is a lot of damage to its buildings. On the hills around town, you see recently added Christian symbols, such as a large statue representing the Virgin Mary and one of Saint Charbel (a holy person in the Maronite Church). There’s a Sunni mosque as well: the religious division in the town is about 50/50, with more Christian Syrians leaving. These demographic changes also have an impact on the survival of the Aramaic language in town, as can be read in this interesting article.

We started our visit at St. Sarkis, a monastery of the Melkite Catholic denomination. It was built on the remains of a pagan temple, and its horseshoe-shaped altar table is believed to be a Christian adaptation of a pagan altar (which had drainage channels for blood sacrifices). The Convent was also rich in old icons. Unfortunately, during the Civil War, several of those were stolen. Only two were found and have been reinstated. The altar is also a replica.

The monastery sells locally produced wine, which they are happy to pass around for a taste (sweet!), and has a well-stocked shop for pilgrims and tourists.

We did not have time to visit Maaloula’s other main convent, the Greek Orthodox St. Thecla’s, as the woman who received us at St. Sarkis told us to hurry to the town square as the procession of the Cross was about to begin. And indeed, we arrived just in time to see a small group of Christians in the street carrying a large wooden cross. Some 100 locals, accompanied by an almost equal number of tourists and security guys, brought the cross via the main road of the town to the foot of the mountain. I walked with the procession and must say it was a strange feeling, a bit like witnessing the end of a centuries-long tradition.

At the end of the road, the core of the group (including the elderly priests) climbed up against the rock wall and eventually appeared at the top. At 7 p.m. sharp, two crosses made out of electric lights were erected (the wooden cross was inexplicably left leaning against a rock at the beginning of the climb). Fireworks went off in town and some businesses switched on Christmas-like decorations. A celebratory fire was about to follow. Maybe typical for the many factions in this part of the world is that the Catholics of Maaloula were celebrating on the top of one cliff, while the Orthodox (smaller in number) did the same on the hilltop on the other side of town.

We had found the perfect viewpoint to keep an eye on both communities: the ruins of the Safir Hotel, destroyed in 2014 (to many, it was an eyesore anyway; it "has taken for itself the prime location overlooking the village, thereby ruining the skyline in the process" (Bradt Guide 2006)). Perched on a third cliff high above Maaloula town, we watched the spectacle from the former terrace of its restaurant. The only other people there were four bearded guards. Word on the ground was that the regime had allowed the Christians of Maaloula to celebrate in every way they wanted and that the security would protect them. Still, people were wary and it certainly did not end in a big street party, which was the common way in earlier years. Most impressive were the fires started on the hilltops, including igniting dozens of old tyres to create dark smoke.