al-Zeitoun Church

al-Zeitoun Church (كنيسة الزيتون), located in the Bab Sharqi (باب شرقي) neighborhood of the old city of Damascus (دمشق), is the seat of the Greek Catholic patriarchate and one of the most attractive churches in the city. The church was built in 1833-1834 after Sultan Mahmoud II (محمود الثاني) eased restrictions placed upon Christians under the Ottoman Empire that prohibited the construction of new churches. …