Saidnaya

Saidnaya
صيدنايا
Sednaya, Seydnaya, Saidenaya
Overview of Saidnaya
Saidnaya
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 33°41′48″N 36°22′26″E / 33.69667°N 36.37389°E / 33.69667; 36.37389
Country Syria
GovernorateRif Dimashq
Districtal-Tall
SubdistrictSaidnaya
Control Syrian opposition
Elevation
1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Population
 (2004 census)
  Total
25,194
Time zone+2
  Summer (DST)+3

Saidnaya (Arabic: صيدنايا, romanized: Ṣaydnāyā), also transliterated as Saydnaya, Seidnaya or Sednaya, is a city located in the mountains, 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level, 27 km (17 mi) north of the city of Damascus in Syria. It is the home of a Greek Orthodox monastery traditionally held to have been founded by Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and where a renowned icon of the Virgin Mary is revered by both Christians and Muslims to this day. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Saidnaya had a population of 25,194 in the 2004 census.