Schematic — not to scale. The church is four basilicas set on a central octagon with the column at its heart. The complex is rectangular and runs north to south; the baptistery stands about 200 m south of the church, and the Via Sacra climbs from the gate at the south-west.
The approach
01–02
The church
03–05
The Octagon
The eight-sided court at the centre of the church, built around the column so that four basilicas could meet on it.
The Pillar
The column Simeon lived on, once about eighteen metres high, now a worn block at the centre of the octagon.
The East Basilica
The largest of the four arms, and the one where the liturgy was actually celebrated.
The complex
06–08
The Baptistery
An octagonal drum raised on a square base, standing on the processional road — among the finest Christian buildings in Syria.
The Monastery
The U-shaped convent beside the church, with cells for monks and for the students who came to study.
The Byzantine Walls
The fortifications that turned a monastery into a stronghold — and gave the hill the name it still carries.