Qalb Loze#Church

Qalb Loze lies at an elevation of 670 meters in the Idlib Governorate on the A'la Mountain (Jabal Summaq) plateau, a remote hilly region of western central part of the northern Syrian limestone massif, a few kilometers from the Turkish border. The place is near Barisha and is accessible from the main Aleppo-Antakya road by a secondary road that heads northeast. Nearby localities include Qurqania to the south, Kafr Dariyan to the east and Kafr Takharim to the west.[http://mapcarta.com/12678022 Qalb Lawzah Map]. Mapcarta.

The area is ecologically vulnerable due to desertification, and its high altitude. Olive trees grow in the valley below the village, some dryland field crops are grown, and sheep are kept.

In the mid-1960s there were about 150 people living in Qalb Loze.Boulanger, 1966, p. 409. It is still a small village with a population of 1,290 in the 2004 census by the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Its inhabitants are members of the Druze community, who inhabit 13 other villages in the vicinity. The residents of the village are noted for their fair skin and blond hair.Betts, 1990, p. 36.

The church at Qalb Lozeh dates back to the 460s ADBogisch, Markus (2005) "Qalat Seman and Resafa/Sergiupolis: Two Early Byzantine Pilgrimage Centers in Northern Syria" pp. 52–72 In Volt, Ivo and Päll, Janika (2005) Byzantino-Nordica 2004: Papers Presented at the International Symposium of Byzantine Studies Held on 7–11 May 2004 in Tartu, Estonia Morgenstern Society, Tartu University Press, Tartu, Estonia, [https://books.google.com/books?id=gItVKprpx7sC&pg=PA64 page 64], {{ISBN|9949-11-266-4}} and is one of the best-preserved churches of this period in the region.[https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1290/ L'église de Qalbe Loze - UNESCO World Heritage Centre] The church is the first known in Syria with the wide basilica,Burns, Ross (2009) The Monuments of Syria: A Guide (third edition) I.B. Tauris, London, page 245, {{ISBN|978-1-84511-947-8}} where the columns that in traditional Byzantine church architecture separate the aisles from the nave have been replaced with low piers and soaring arches that create the feeling of expanded space.Tchalenko, Georges (1974) "La Basilique de Qalbloze" Les annales archéologiques arabes syriennes: revue d'archéologie et d'histoire 24: pp. 9–15, page 9; in French It is strikingly similar in architectural style and craftsmanship to the large pre-Islamic Syrian churches in Turmanin, Androna, Ruweha (:de:Ruweiha), and Karatin, which may have been built by the same workshops or guilds.Strube, Christine (1977) "Die Formgebung der Apsisdekoration in Qalbloze unde Qalat Siman" Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 20: pp. 181–191, page 187; in GermanKrautheimer, Richard and Ćurči, Slobodan (1992) Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (Fourth Edition) Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, page 151, {{ISBN|0-300-05294-4}}

Gertrude Bell, the intrepid Middle Eastern diplomat, explorer and archaeologist, described this church as "...the beginning of a new chapter in the architecture of the world. The fine and simple beauty of Romanesque was born in North Syria."Bell, Gertrude Lowthian (2001) The Desert and the Sown: The Syrian adventures of the female Lawrence of Arabia Cooper Square Press, New York, page 306, {{ISBN|0-8154-1135-9}}; originally published as Syria, the Desert and the Sown in 1907 by Heinemann, London {{OCLC|234202529}} Since Gertrude Bell's visit in the early 1900s, the town has grown, and the church is now surrounded by modern houses.Ash, John (10 September 2000) [http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/traveler/20000910tra-syria.html "Syria: Dead Cities And Lively Aleppo"] The New York Times Magazine

The site was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2011 as a part of the "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria" listing.UNESCO World Heritage List, [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1348 Ancient Villages of Northern Syria]

The church, with its "twin tower flanking the rose window" may have been an inspiration for aspects of the design of the Notre-Dame de Paris.[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/aug/13/looted-landmarks-notre-dame-big-ben-st-marks-east-stealing-from-the-saracens Looted landmarks: how Notre-Dame, Big Ben and St Mark's were stolen from the east] Oliver Wainwright, 13 Aug 2020, The Guardian

During the ongoing Syrian civil war, the Druze inhabitants of Qalb Loze have refrained from participating in the fighting between opposition rebels and government forces. This is partially due to the fears of being involved in the civil strife and the insistence of rebel leaders that they remain neutral. Relations between the village's residents and the Sunni Muslim majority in the area are strong and most oppose the government of Bashar al-Assad. Qalb Loze has provided a safe haven for Druze deserters from the Syrian Army, clinics for wounded rebels, and shelter for local refugees fleeing the violence in their towns and villages.[https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Sep-08/187193-syria-druze-back-sunnis-revolt-with-words-but-not-arms.ashx Syria Druze back Sunnis' revolt with words but not arms]. Agence France-Presse. 2012-09-08. However, on June 10, 2015, 20 Druze were massacred there by the Nusra Front.{{Cite news |title=Al-Qaeda s'attaque à des Druzes en Syrie |url=http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2015/06/12/al-qaeda-s-attaque-a-des-druzes-en-syrie_1327816 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20150918155111/http://www.liberation.fr:80/monde/2015/06/12/al-qaeda-s-attaque-a-des-druzes-en-syrie_1327816 |archive-date=2015-09-18 |access-date=2025-01-18 |work=Libération.fr |language=fr}}

Since August of 2021, a faction of Tahrir al-Sham called Katibat al-Ghuraba al-Turkistan started occupying the area.{{Cite web |last=Bergström |first=Frida |date=August 14, 2021 |title=Katibat al-Ghuraba al-Turkistan scoundrels are occupying homes in Qalb Lawze and Jabal al-Summaq in Idlib, Syria |url=https://trackingterrorism.org/chatter/katibat-al-ghuraba-al-turkistan-scoundrels-occupying-homes-qalb-lawze-jabal-al-summaq-idlib/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=TRAC}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book|first=Robert Brenton|last=Betts|title=The Druze|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9nnPg1EDOEC|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0300048100}}
• {{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Boulanger|title=The Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2a8LAQAAIAAJ&q=Tell+Selhab+Hama|publisher=Hachette|year=1966}}
• {{cite book|title=Syria and Lebanon|author=Nelles Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCTszTdofMkC|publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc.|year=1999|isbn=3886181057}}

{{Refend}}

• [http://www.uni-kiel.de/kibidano/receive/kibidano_kibpic_00007203 "Qalb Loze / Innenraum"] Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
• [https://archive.today/20070624092432/http://www.syria.strabon.org/ua/pm_villesmortes/antique-villages/qalbloze_en.html "Qalb Loze"] Strabon

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{{Idlib Governorate|Harem}}

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Category:Former populated places in Syria

Category:Archaeological sites in Idlib Governorate

Category:Populated places in Harem District

Category:Churches in Syria

Category:Dead Cities

Category:Druze communities in Syria