Mount Simeon

File:Mount Simeon Syria.jpg

Mount Simeon landscape

Mount Simeon or Mount Simon (Arabic: جبل سمعان ǧabal Samʻān [ˈd͡ʒæbæl sæmˈʕaːn]), also called Mount Laylūn (Arabic: جبل ليلون), is a highland region in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The mountain is located in the Mount Simeon and Aʻzāz districts of Aleppo Governorate.

Name

File:Saint Simeon, northern Syria (1434001716).jpg

Church of Saint Simeon Stylites

The name of the mountain comes from the name of Saint Simeon Stylites, a Christian hermit of the 5th century CE who lived in a monastery on the mount.

The ancient name of the mountain was Mount Nebo, after the Mesopotamian god Nabu. The word Nebo is still found in the names of several villages on the mountain (Kafr Nebbo, Nebbol, etc.).

The name Laylūn is of Kurdish origin.

Landscape

Mount Simeon is part of the Limestone Massif in the western part of the Aleppo plateau. It is located about 20 km northwest of Aleppo. The mountain runs for 50 km from north to south with a width range of 20–40 km and average elevation of 500–600 m. The highest point is Sheikh Barakāt (876 m) in the southern part of the mountain.

The valley of River ʻIfrīn runs between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd to the west. Aʻzāz valley marks the northern boundary of the mountain, beyond which lies the Aʻzāz plain and Mount Barṣa (Barṣāyā) on the Aintab plateau. The valley of river Quweiq runs along the eastern side of the mountain. South of the mountain lie the Dāna and Atārib plains. Old routes connecting Qinnasrin to Antioch run through these plains to the ʻIfrīn valley at its westward turn and separate Mount Simeon from Ḥārim Mountains to the south.