Editing Aleppo (section)

===Nearby attractions and the ''Dead Cities''===
{{Main|Dead Cities}}
[[File:Kharab Shams Basilica, Dead Cities region, NW Syria.jpg|thumb|left|Kharab Shams Basilica, 4th century]]
Aleppo's western suburbs are home to a group of historical sites and villages which are commonly known as the ''[[Dead Cities]]''. Around 700 abandoned settlements in the northwestern parts of Syria before the 5th century, contain remains of Christian [[Byzantine architecture]]. Many hundreds of those settlements are in [[Mount Simeon]] (Jabal Semaan) and Jabal Halaqa regions at the western suburbs of Aleppo, within the range of [[Limestone Massif]].<ref>[http://www.syria.strabon.org/ua/pm_villesmortes/antique-villages/index_en.html Ancient villages (dead cities)]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Dead Cities were inscribed as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 2011, under the name of "Ancient Villages of Northern Syria".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1348 |title=Ancient Villages of Northern Syria |author=UNESCO |access-date=30 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018204926/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1348/ |archive-date=18 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Church of Saint Simeon Stylites 01.jpg|thumb|Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, 5th century]]
The most notable ''Dead cities'' and archaeological sites in Mount Simeon and [[Kurd Mountain|Mount Kurd]] near Aleppo include: Kalota Castle and churches northwest of Aleppo, Kharab Shams Byzantine basilica of the 4th century,<ref>eAleppo:Kharab Shams [http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=ruins&filename=200812270845011 Kharab Shams in history (in Arabic)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330131819/http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=ruins&filename=200812270845011 |date=30 March 2012 }}</ref> the half-ruined Roman basilica in [[Fafertin]] village dating back to 372 AD, the old Byzantine settlement of [[Surqanya]] village at the northwest of Aleppo, the 4th-century Basilica of Sinhar settlement, the Mushabbak Basilica dating back to the second half of the 5th century, the 9th-century BC Assyrian settlement of [[Kafr Nabu]], [[Barad, Syria|Brad]] village and the [[Julian of Antioch|Saint Julianus]] Maronite monastery (399–402 AD) where the shrine of [[Maron|Saint Maron]] is located, the 5th-century Kimar settlement of the Roman and Byzantine eras, the [[Church of Saint Simeon Stylites]] of the 5th century, the [[Syro-Hittite states|Syro-Hittite]] [[Ain Dara temple]] of the [[Iron Age]] dating back to the 10th and 8th centuries BC, the ancient city of [[Cyrrhus]] with the old Roman amphitheatre and two historic bridges, etc.