Serjilla
Serjilla (also spelled Sarjella) gets Lonely Planet's vote as the "most eerie and evocative" of all the Dead Cities of northern Syria. It also has the greatest number of semi-complete buildings.
Serjilla has been deserted for almost 1500 years, but its stone buildings remain sharp-edged and the surrounding area is carpeted in short grass. In many ways it looks as if the villagers have only just left.
The center of the town has a two-storey tavern and a large bathhouse. The bathhouse is austere and stripped of its original mosaics, but the very existence of a Christian-era (built 473 AD) bathhouse is unique and interesting.
Next door is an andron (men's meeting place) and further east is a small ruined church. Spreading outward from the center are remains of private houses and villas, connected by narrow grassy lanes.
Serjilla is located in the Jebel Riha, 65 km north of Hama and 80 km southwest of Aleppo, close to the ruins of Al-Bara. An admission fee of S£150 is charged by a guard who hovers around the parking lot on the edge of the site.
Sources
- Lonely Planet Syria and Lebanon, p. 200-01.
