Monastery of Saint Simeon Stylites

 archaeological site, monastery, byzantine, UNESCO World Heritage Site, historic ruins, Syriac Orthodox Church

Also called Qalat Semaan (Huis van Simeon)

The famous Saint Simon spent his life here praying and healing people about 1600 years ago.

The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites (Arabic: كنيسة مار سمعان العمودي‎ Kanīsat Mār Simʿān al-ʿAmūdī) is a historical building located about 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Aleppo, Syria. It is the oldest surviving Byzantine church, dating back to the 5th century. Built on the site of the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites, a famed hermit monk, the church is popularly known as either Qalaat Semaan (Arabic: قلعة سمعان‎ Qalʿat Simʿān), the 'Fortress of Simeon', or Deir Semaan (Arabic: دير سمعان‎ Dayr Simʿān), the 'Monastery of Simeon' .

As of June 2011, the Church and surrounding village was designated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as part of the "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria", a World Heritage Site.

The Church was held by Islamist extremist groups (including Islamic State) who are opposed to reverence for and existence of shrines and holy sites, both Muslim and Christian raising concerns for its continued existence. On the 28th of May 2015 the church was captured by the Kurdish YPG/YPJ with apparently little damage.

Sources:
twitter.com/theirredentist/status/604026008342249475
twitter.com/ColetteAnnesley/status/604231962321121280
twitter.com/theirredentist/status/863747422685712384
twitter.com/e_sklt/status/874632170018570240
anfenglish.com/news/retaliation-by-ypg-leaves-28-turkey...