About us

We lived and researched in the Aramaic village of Maaloula in Syria for some years, and
we are closely connected to Aramaic culture and language. Friends who have visited
Maaloula or know it from books and stories joined us. They too feel a special affection for
this unique village.

The expulsion of the Aramaeans from Maaloula by Islamist rebels in September 2013 filled
us with pain and sorrow. Maaloula lived from the meager yields of its agriculture and the
modest expenses of tourists who visited to hear the language of Jesus Christ.

Many of the residents have now returned to their village, and it is a heartfelt matter to help
them preserve their village and ensure their supplies. Only in this way will the Aramaic
language and culture be preserved where they have existed for thousands of years.

We very much appreciate your help

Donations/Get involved

We are in close personal contact with the refugees from Maaloula and can thus
guarantee that donations are exclusively used to support them. Please donate to
the following account:

Account Name: Verein Hilfe für das Aramäerdorf Maaloula
IBAN: DE 38 6609 0800 0009 5063 30
BIC: GENODE61BBB

You can also donate directly online via the betterplace platform or shop here on Amazon using our button and 5% of the purchase value will be donated to Maaloula at no extra cost.

betterplace

Amazon

We are pleased to have new members!

To help does not only mean to donate. All kinds of support are welcome, for instance voluntary help, platforms for publicizing our organization, new ideas, cooperation in organizing events, useful contacts, suggestions for improving our methods and things we might not even have thought of. And as a matter of course we are pleased to have new members!

Download our membership application here and send it by email to help@maaloula.de or by post to:

Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold
Verein Hilfe für das Aramäerdorf Maaloula
Im Hirschmorgen 40
69181 Leimen

membership application

Statute of association

Maaloula

Maaloula, situated in the Qalamun mountains about 60 km north of Damascus, is deemed to be the most beautiful village in Syria, containing the country’s oldest monasteries. It is also famous for its language: Aramaic. Only in Maaloula do the Christians still, to this day, speak a Western Aramaic dialect such as was spoken in its ancient form by Jesus Christ.

Maaloula in the past

Maaloula after the attack

Listen to the Western Aramaic of Maaloula