On my first visit through Syria in 2005 I was reading William Dalrymple’s terrific From the Holy Mountainwhich describes his journey retracing the steps of a Byzantine monk and uncovering the last vestiges of Christianity in the present-day Middle East.  I knew nothing of the subject matter beforehand but was familiar with Dalrymple having lived in Delhi where his City of Djinns headlines the expat canon.

It was from Dalyrmple that I first learned the highlights of the incredible story of St Simeon and since this time I planned to visit the Basilica erected in his honor, I dug into the details a little more.

The young Simon grew up near Aleppo in the 1st Century AD and was apparently struck with a deep religiosity from an early age.  He entered a Christian monastery at 16 and began a self-imposed life of extreme austerity and frequent fasts.  After a while he started to get a reputation and became something of a celebrity.  People started coming from all around to see this remarkable aescetic who was said to have spent weeks standing upright and who had now confined himself to a 20 metre space.  The problem was that the more famous he became, the harder it became for poor Simon to live a life of peaceful retreat.  He was finding himself spending all day surrounded by pilgrims and church delegations answering their entreaties for prayers and advice.  His solution was rather unique.

In what one must assume was a fairly desperate attempt to get some peace and quiet, he climbed up on a nearby ruined pillar where he vowed to live out the rest of his life.  Inevitably this latest feat just made the crowds swell.  Eventually his more devoted followers built him a new pillar almost 15m high with a handy balustrade to keep him safely atop.  He was said to entertain visitors (who were allowed to ascend a ladder for a chat) and he delivered regular sermons preaching moderation and compassion.   After 37 years atop his pillar he finally passed on having inspired hundreds of imitators. Apparently it became a common sight to see St Simeon disciples perched atop their own pillars all over the region.

Several hundred years later his devotees erected four enormous Basilica surrounding the site of his pillar. The floor space would have rivaled that of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople and even from the ruins it’s obvious it was a stunning work of beauty.  It must have been a strange homage to a man who dedicated his life to asceticism.  

I visited the ruins not far from Aleppo.  What remains of the infamous pillar is a rather comical lump of rough rock.  In contrast, the massive limestone arches that rise above are sublime – especially against a clear blue autumn sky.  A blessed absence of tour groups provided an appropriately peaceful atmosphere to admire the architecture and ponder the amazing story of St Simeon’s life upon his stylite.