Qala’at Samaan

Qala’at Samaan is the Arabic name for the citadel of St. Simeon the Stylite, born 392 AD. Simeon was an ascetic/hermit who lived in a cave in the wilderness. Since he was a pious man, pilgrims begin to visit him to ask for a blessing. Simeon soon tired of this invasion of his solitude and erected a 3 meter column on which to sit so no one could touch him. This wasn’t high enough, however; by the end of his life he had spent close to 40 years on the top of his pillars, the last of which was close to 18 meters in height. He attracted an enormous following and pilgrims came as far from Britain and France to see him. The notion of stylism (from the Greek word for pillar, stylos) caught on, and soon copy-cats could be found sitting on pillars throughout the Byzantine Empire.

In order not to fall off from the pillar there was a railing at the top and Simeon wore an iron collar around his neck which was chained to the stone.

The citadel/church is in fairly good condition today (minus the roof); when it was built in490, it was the largest church in the world. There remains only a stub of St. Simeon’s last pillar, as pilgrims have chipped off pieces over the years.