St. Elias Maronite Cathedral, Aleppo

The Saint Elias Cathedral is an Eastern Catholic church located in the Christian quarter of Jdeydeh. It is named after Elijah the prophet. The church was opened in 1873 and renovated in 1914. The building has two magnificent belfries at the facade, In 1914, during the period of Archbishop Michael Akhras, the dome was renovated and for that purpose, concrete was used in reconstruction works for the first time in the architecture history of Aleppo, with the help of experts from Belgium. In the same period, the chiming clock, which plays Ave Maria every fifteen minutes, has been placed on the tower, while its marble entrance with yellow columns is situated under the high dome on the east side. In front of the main gate, the statue of Archbishop and poet Germanos Farhat (1670–1732) has been erected in 1932 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death, and for his efforts in founding the Maronite library, the home of old valuable manuscripts. Since then, the surrounding area of the cathedral is called Farhat square.