On a mountain ridge between the Mediterranean coast and the grand, awe-inspiring Krak de Chevalier lies the small mountain town of Safita. It´s a magical place full of those surprise moments that catch you off guard once in a while. Half of the population is Greek Orthodox, the other half are Alewites. The town is dominated by the tower of the former fortress Chastel Blanc, or Burj Safita, which today comprises the Greek Orthodox church of St. Michael. On my travels through Syria I have always been flabbergasted by the strong christian presence in all parts of the country along the coast, it´s not really something that you´d expect on a trip into a muslim dominated realm. I´ve blogged about this phenomenon before: Aleppo, Damascus and Maalula all have a strong and obvious christian character. It´s actually not so much a phenomenon but rather a natural fact as a consequence of this region´s fascinating history, reaching back into biblical times. Nevertheless, in these times it never ceases to impress me when the townspeople show up on a saturday night and gather inside the church that used to be a donjon of the fortress. On this particular evening the sky glowed from the setting sun in the Mediterranean in unison with the red neon cross over the church door, while music and chants streamed through the nearby streets, dying away in the distant upcoming darkness of the night. Those were most definetely uplifting moments in a small magical town called Safita.

The tower (donjon) of the former crusader fortress looms over Safita.

Coca-Cola and Mary deliver a message.

On top of the tower looking northeast.

The snowy peaks of the Anti-Lebanon mountains in the hazy distant, looking south toward Lebanon.

    The top floor of the tower has the very distinct architectural

    handwriting of the crusader era. Chastel Blanc was built by

    the Knights Templar.          

On the lower floor is the Greek Orthodox church. This room

may have already served as a chapel in crusader times, but the

iconostasion was of course installed at a later date (orthodox

churches separate the altar from the nave with a screen,

symbolizing the separation between heaven and earth).

The Mediterranean sea in the distance to the west.

  Worshipers gathering for the evening sermon.

Even though orthodox churches are known for their opulence, the Greek and Syrian Orthodox churches in Syria are modest in appearance. Most churches blend in neatly with the unmistakable middle eastern landscape, which very often has a sandy hue.

Check out more pics of Syria