Saint Theodoros old church

The two juxtaposed churches of Saint Théodore and Notre Dame de Mechmech are located on the hill called Dahr Rechkol, on the northeastern outskirts of the village, in a position dominating the village of Habil on the east side and facing the patriarchal site of Our Lady of Habil, located just opposite, 1250 m further west. The two volumes form an irregular quadrilateral with a maximum length of 11.05 m and a width of 10.05 m.

The oldest volume, that of the Our Lady church, occupies the south side of the complex. Built with white limestone blocks that have taken on a grayish tint over time, its exterior walls are made of blocks laid in irregular courses on the lower half of the walls and which transform into regular courses built with much smaller blocks on their upper halves. The interior of its nave, covered by a broken barrel vault, is accessible from a door opened in its west wall. On the northern side of this nave we note the presence of rock formations that protrude into the space along its western half. A square tank measuring 0.36 m on a side, on which a bifid cross in a circle is engraved, is placed on a masonry base between these rocks. The apse, which ends the nave’s eastern side is characterized by the absence of any kind of protruding cornice marking the start of its covering formed by a semi-circular cap,.

The northern nave, built in 1910 on the still partially visible foundations of an older nave which has completely disappeared, takes on a completely different appearance with perfectly quarried stones, built along regular courses. Its interior, divided into two bays, which end on the east side with an apse with recessions and a flat bottom, has a total length of 8.75 m for a width of 4.75 m. Its northwest and southwest angles as well as the center of its north and south sides are occupied by pillars which receive the descents of the two 4.35 m high edged vaults which cover the nave’s two bays. Its apse, located within the eastern wall thickness, has a flat bottom preceded by three recessions covered by pointed arches. 

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• Village : Mechmech