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DARIO BAJURIN / ALAMY

NOTRE DAME OF SYRIA. The first of its kind in Syria, the fifth-century church at Qalb Loze features a wide basilica, where the expected columns separating the nave from the side aisles were replaced with low piers and wide-spanning arches—much like medieval cathedrals in Europe. Early modern explorers also noted the unusual square towers flanking the church’s monumental entrance. These striking features led some to suggest that the Qalb Loze basilica served as a model for European cathedrals centuries later.