'There it is', I pointed out to Maria as we were nearing the Church of St Simeon this morning.'Where', came the reply.'There, on the hill at 2 o'clock', I answered, pleased with myself that the military jargon was still there, 'Where you can see all those white coaches'.'Oh, she said somewhat flatly'.And, true to form, we arrived and struggled to find parking space amongst the throng of brightly liveried tourist coaches signalling the new crusade of European visitors, not here to conquer this time but to worship the Church of St Simeon, a well-preserved 5th-century basilica in Qal'a Sim'an, an isolated site north of Aleppo.We arrived and, as per normal, had no guide but instead were given with a whirlwind tour of the ruin by the site manager...next, next, next...the tour is now finished, bye!

Why this Church?Well, it is built on the site of the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites, the famed hermit monk who was born in 389-390 AD in a village in the Amanus Mountains. He joined a monastery in this area but soon decided to seek a more ascetic life alone so off he went to cave as his first retreat but that didn't work out as he got fed up with the constant interruption from those seeking his blessing.Instead then he chose to live at the top of a pillar.Legend has it that as his tolerance of people decreased his pillar increased in height, finally reaching 18 metres, so that people couldn't touch him.In all, he's said to have spent nearly 40 years living on top of his pillars which apparently had a railing around the top and an iron chain attached to the stone so that he didn't fall off.He would preach twice daily from his perch and shout down answers to his audiences' questions but he refused to speak to women, even to his own mother.However, our guide does not believe that he actually lived on top of the pillar but prefers to think that he simply climbed to the top when it was time to deliver his sermons.He died in 459 AD (St Simeon not our guide) and within just a few decades (c.475), a vast martyrium was built in Simeon's honour on this site.It consisted of four basilicas radiating from the sides of a central octagon, within which enshrined the famous column.

St. Simeon's pillar is still clearly visible in the centre of the courtyard, although it is now only a 2 meter-high boulder due to centuries of relic-gathering by 'tourist' pilgrims.Now the detail.The courtyard is surrounded by four basilicas on a cruciform plan. The east basilica is slightly larger than the others; it was the most important and held all the major ceremonies. Adjacent to the south wall of the eastern basilica is the chapel and the monastery.Opposite the southern basilica is the baptistery, which was built a little after the main church and to the west of the baptistery is the processional route that leads towards Deir Samaan.