Aleppo

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Aleppo Churches

The Church of the Forty Martyrs: for Orthodox Armenians is located in Bawabet al-Yasameen. The old church dates back to the 6th century. The church has many icons and great paintings; the most important of which is a portrait of Virgin Mary which follows the art school of Raphael from the Renaissance. Its northern wall is decorated with a great icon which represents the hereafter.

The Church of Virgin Mary for Orthodox Armenians: is a small church next to the Church of the Forty Martyrs, overlooking the same yard of the Church of the Forty Martyrs. It is mentioned in documents dating back to 1429 and 1476. It is even older than the Church of the Forty Martyrs. Khashadour, Aleppo bishop, renovated it in 1535. The church was changed into a museum.

The Church of the Virgin for the Roman Orthodox: is in the middle of Bawabat al-Yasmeen Street. It is a lovely basalt church which is rich in Aleppian icons and family portraits.

The Church of the Lady of Transformation for Assyrian Catholics: is one of the five churches which were mentioned by Petro de Lavala in 1625.

The Church of the Lady for Roman Catholics: was built between 1834 and 1843. It was renovated in 1852.

The Latin Church: in al-Azizia is named after the name of Saint Francis al-Asizi, the founder of the Franciscan monkery.

Mar Elias Church for Maronites: The area in which this church is located was called «behind the building», in reference to the building of the huge Mar Elias Church which was built in 1873. Cement was used in its building for the first time in Aleppo. A Belgian participated in its building in the time of the bishop Michael Akhras. The church contains a famous library which contains many rare manuscripts. The library was established by bishop Jermanos Farhat. There is a statue of bishop Farhat in the middle of Farhat Square, named after him and erected in 1932 on the 200th anniversary of his death.

The Church of Catholic Armenians: The Armenians used to prey together in the Church of the Forty Martyrs and the Church of Virgin Mary. Then the Catholics were separated from the Gregorian Orthodox in Aleppo, the bishop of Aleppo obtained an act of acknowledge form Rome in 1742 and from the Ottomans in 1730. Bishop Ibrahim Alkolmi bought a house in 1831 from al-Qara Ali and changed it into a church.

The Bandarat Synagogue: The windows of its western part overlook the eastern street adjacent to Abdul Munem Riadh. It is an old temple of unidentified history, perhaps dating back to 12th century or before. The Mosawai sect renovated it under the supervision of the Department of Archaeology. It is said to have contained some parchments of ancient scripts of Torah.