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For centuries, Saint Simeon was an important centre of Christianity in Syria and drew thousands of pilgrims and worshippers of the Saint. The young shepherd Simeon became a Stylite, a man who proved his faith by inflicting on himself the incredible punishment of living perched atop a high column for 37 years. In so doing, he drew growing crowds of pilgrims and worshippers. Soon after his death, the memory of Saint Simeon was immortalised in a basilica, built around the column on which he lived. It is considered the most beautiful church in the entire Levant, containing four churches in one. Walking through Saint Simeon evokes memories both of Roman Empire sites and of the Roman churches of France or Italy in the European visitor. The Church of Saint Simeon undoubtedly foreshadows the religious architecture of the Roman period in Europe.
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