The Cherubim Patriarchal Monastery is located on the top of Mount Qalamoun at an elevation of 2,000 meters and above the famous city of Saidnaya. When we were there in 2011 it was a very active and vibrant Monastery with many monks and visitors. We were there several weeks ago and we were amazed that the entire monastery was deserted and we did not see one person! Yet the famous lower chapel which was carved into the hillside had its’ door open! It did not appear that nothing was disturbed inside this very old chapel. It also appeared that is was being used as there was no dust or destruction. It was a very strange and bizarre feeling as the entire monastery was abandoned and uninhabited. When we were last there in 2011 there was no statue. The monks showed me an artist rendition of their planned statue and they told me that they had planned to have a very large statue erected on the hillside. Well this statue was completed in October 2013 and is called: the Statue of Jesus of Saidnaya. It has a title of: "I Have Come to Save the World" and at 32 meters in height it is the tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the Middle East! I believe its completion coincided with a religious holiday for Orthodox Christians who celebrate the feast day of the Protection of the Most Holy Virgin Mary on that day. Even though the monastery appears to be empty and vacant it is still worth the 8 kilometer drive up to the top of the mountain as the drive affords great views of the city below and of the beautiful Syrian countryside!

Located on a high hill in saydnaya, this site contains an old christian orthodox church, a monastery and a big statue of the Christ... the view of the surounding mountains is breathtaking.