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MM212 Says: Calling Serjilla a "dead city" is perhaps incorrect. Not only is it merely a village, but it is also inhabited. The attached photo shows the hanging laundry of a family of squatters who have taken refuge in one of its old houses. Given how lovely and intact these Byzantine...
MM212 Says: Serjilla's buildings are decorated with the typical circular Byzantine symbols of the 4th and 5th century AD. These symbols are found at other 'dead cities' of the region, and have survived in modified form in later Syrian architecture well into the 19th century. The...
MM212 Says: A church lies to the east of the Andron and probably dates from late 4th century. It has a triple nave in the interior, but has not survived well over the years. A section of the church lies in piles of stone.
MM212 Says: One of Serjilla's most striking buildings, the Andron was a men's meeting place, a tavern of some sort. The building is located just east of the bathhouse and is astonishingly well preserved having lost nothing but its ceilings. The façade has a double portico with three...
MM212 Says: East of the bath house, up a hill is Serjilla's best preserved mansion. The entire house is intact with the exception of its roof and floor. Though an arch that used to support the ceiling has survived in the interior. The attached photos show some details, including the...
MM212 Says: Adjacent to Serjilla's modern car park, the first building on the right hand side as you enter the ruins is a house or villa. It is among a cluster of houses at the western end of the village. Although only its southern wall survived intact, the eastern facing façade still...
MM212 Says: Built in a basin amid rocky, grassy hills, Serjilla has some of the best preserved buildings of any 'dead city' of north-western Syria. True to every guidebook's description, Serjilla is an eerie place that appears to have been abandoned only a short moment ago. The attached...
MM212 Says: In Byzantine times, this region depended largely on the production of olives and olive oil. Serjilla had an olive oil press where olive oil was produced. The attached photo shows details of the olive press. It is located north east of the bath house, up the hill.
MM212 Says: The southeastern end of Serjilla has a small cluster of villas/mansions. The most striking is the one shown in the attached photo, which is similar in architecture as the Andron. Its façade has a double portico with four columns each, although part of the portico and some of...
MM212 Says: Past the necropolis and down a curved downhill path one first comes across two well-preserved buildings (south-east of the necropolis). The building on the left hand side was the town's bathhouse. Built in 473 AD, it is one of the few in Syria to have survived intact from...
MM212 Says: As you enter Serjilla, you will notice a few stone tombs on the left hand side. This is where the village's necropolis was located. The attached photo shows a sarcophagus with typical carved Byzantine symbols.
triplehelix Says: J'ai fini
triplehelix Says: The only real way to get to Serjilla is by hired driver or rental. I seriously advise against renting a car in the Middle East because the driving is insane! I stayed at the Riad Hotel in Hama which provides hired drivers for day trips. My driver was Omar who spoke little...
morgr Says: Much to my surprise, I discovered that Serjilla is home not only to some spectacular ruins, but also to some (not so spectacular) animals. There were goats and chickens and such belonging to some locals who had turned parts of the city into a farm!In this picture you can see...
MM212 Says: Located close and on the way to Serjilla, Al-Barah is said to be another large and extensive 'dead city'. It contains numerous mansions, churches and a monastery, spread across a large area and built among olive groves and orchards. One of its highlights is the existence of...
MM212 Says: The landscape around Serjilla is very striking... almost moon-like. It is made up essentially of white/grey rocks. These rocks are the same ones that were used in the construction of many of the dead cities. It is said that when the dead cities were inhabited, the land...
MM212 Says: On the way to Serjilla, as one turns off the main road, along the final stretch which ends in Serjilla itself, is another small 'dead city' called Boudeh. It is located roughly half way between Al-Barah and Serjilla. Boudeh is made up of only a small number of houses and my...
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I've got some interesting experiences in Khirbat Serjilla. I'd love to share with you the 14 tips I've written, the 51 photos uploaded, and 1 travelogue I've created.
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I swear... after arriving at this place I felt as if everyone in the world had died and I was the lone survivor. Serjilla has the feel of a zombie town and bears an eerie resemblance to the horror...
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Of the dead cities that I visited, Serjilla was easlily the most memorable. Situated on the eastern slopes of Ariha Mountain (more like a hill really), Serjilla is a Bynzantine settlement dating back...
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Serjilla is undoubtedly the most eerie and evocative of the dead cities. It has the greatest number of semi-complete building, all of which sit in a natural basin in windswept and hilly morrland. You...
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A Dead City Called Serjilla...
QALA'AT SAMAAN<<<<<SERJILLA>>>>>AL-BARAHSYRIA11th April 2005 ( Monday ) Again, I made this excursion to The Dead Cities from Aleppo (on the 2nd day when I was there in......
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