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Maalula is one of the few places where Aramic language is still spoken . It constitues a sort of Christian resort near Damascus (that's around 50 kms. far ). The city , that's also attached to the Lebanese-Syrian frontier , is said to be one of the most charming villages in Syria . One has the feeling of having his or her feet on a holy land with blue and yellow houses built on the rocks , temples , orthodox churches , terraces , narrow paths between the rocks ,... the stream of pilgrimage coming from , mainly , South America (many people from the Maalula region emigrated long ago to America) , an interesting restored iconography and , for the rejoice of the visitors ,some guides offer themselves to pray aloud in Aramic language ...But be careful , in those non-islamic places the secret service of the Syrian police usually acts by placing or filtering agents in strategic points such as let's say ...: restaurants , souvenir shops ...So don't mention the word Israel , don't spit bad words on the Assad dinasty and things like that ...i tell you by experience !