MA'LULA

also spelled Maalula, village in southern Syria about 30 mi (50 km) north of Damascus. The houses are built on the slopes of a huge cirque of rocks that encloses the village; the houses are constructed of stones with flat beam roofs. Most of the houses have blue plaster on the outside, a Christian custom. Most of the inhabitants are Greek-Catholic and have preserved in their spoken language a dialect of Syriac. The Catholic monastery of Mar Sarkis (St. Sergius) has a Byzantine church and Byzantine-period tombs cut into the rock behind. There is also an Orthodox monastery, Mar Takla (St. Thecla), which has a modern church.