Maaloula Mountainside Festival of the Cross

Eid al Celib, Maaloula.

When terrorists occupied Maaloula, this ancient tradition was not held, the only time in it's nearly 1700 year history, Maaloula resident Abdo Haddad told me last year when the festival resumed.

More on this history:

"The celebration dates back to 320 AD, when Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, sent officials to Jerusalem to find the Holy relic of the cross on Mount Golgotha, which they did on 14 September.

In order to inform the emperor and his mother, who lived in Constantinople, bonfires were lit on every peak located along the 1,170 km that separate the two cities.

For centuries, Maaloula was the centre of this celebration, with pilgrims and faithful gathering each year from around Syria and the world."
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/-Maaloula-refugees-celebrate-the-Exaltation-of-the-Cross,-pray-for-their-martyrs-29017.html

My related article:

Damascus Trade Fair and Festival of the Cross Mark the Return of Peace to Much of Syria
https://www.mintpressnews.com/damascus-trade-fair-and-christian-festival-mark-return-of-peace-to-syria/249731/

My prior articles from Maaloula
https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/devastation-and-inspiration-recalling-liberated-maloula/
https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2016/10/20/overcoming-savagery-and-treachery-maaloulas-heroic-defenders-fight-for-the-future/