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Photo: Authors of Menologion of Basil II (circa 985 AC, Constantinople), Byzantine manuscript illuminators [1] : Pantoleon with Georgios, Michael the Younger, Michael… · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Christian monastery in central Syria
The Monastery of St. Elian is a Syriac Catholic monastery near the town of Al-Qaryatayn, along a trade route between the two major cities of Palmyra and Damascus in the Homs Governorate of central Syria. It was destroyed on 21 August 2015 by members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, whose acts of terror in the Syrian Civil War include widespread vandalism and violence against non-Salafists and historical heritage. St. Elian Monastery housed a 5th-century tomb and served as a major pilgrimage site, particularly to those seeking a cure for bodily ailments. Parts of the monastery, including the foundations, were 1,500 years old.
