Maaloula, from the Aramaic word, meaning 'entrance' is a town in Syria until recently dominated by speakers of Western Neo-Aramaic. With two other nearby towns Bakh'a and Jubb'adin, it is the only place where a dialect of the Western branch of the Aramaic language is still spoken. Scholars have determined that the Aramaic of Jesus belonged to this particular branch as well, however, as many media coverage has erroneously stated, it isn't the exact dialect Jesus of Nazareth spoke during the first century. Ma'loula represents, therefore, an important source for linguistics studies regarding first century Aramaic, hence, Jesus' own Aramaic dialect.

The distance and geological features only aided the longevity of this linguistic oasis for over one and half thousand years. However, modern roads and transportation, as well as accessibility to Arabic-language television and print media and for some time until recently, also state policy, have eroded that linguistic heritage.