St. Simeon Stylites
Dating to the 5th century, the Church of St. Simeon Stylites was built by order of the Byzantine Emperor to celebrate the life of St. Simeon, a hermit who spent most of his life living on a 10-feet tall column (stylus, in Greek) and preaching to crowds of believers twice a day. This site was once home to a monastic complex with four churches built on each side of a cross-shaped plan, with an octagon at the center marking the place where St. Simeon's column stood. Today, only the church is left, containing the remains of the pillar.
+© BERNARD GAGNON | CC BY-SA 3.0