THE SYRIAN VILLAGE OF MAALOULA is featured in another article:

Syrian Villagers Determined to Keep Ancient Language Alive (VOANews.com)
Laurie Kassman
Maaloula, Syria
25 Feb 2004, 17:22 UTC

Arabic is the official language of Syria, but in the mountain village of Maaloula residents still converse in Aramaic, a language that can be traced back 3,000 years.

The village of Maaloula is nestled in the snowy mountains, 50 kilometers north of Damascus. In the ancient language of Aramaic, the name means, opening to a high place.

Its relative isolation has allowed spoken Aramaic to survive for several thousand years - from the days when the Assyrian Empire spread across Syria and southern Turkey, and traders carried its words to Afghanistan and beyond.

I think they mean a few thousand years. We first start getting Aramaic inscriptions in the early first millennium B.C.E. And the following is a bit odd too:

Later, it is said that Jesus Christ spread the language, as he traveled through the region to preach a new religion.

"When he addressed the people, Hebrew was the language of the prayer, of scriptures, but Aramaic was the vernacular," he [retired school teacher Georges Rezkallah] said. "It was simple script." Use of Aramaic began to die as the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great spread his empire and his language across the region. Later, the spread of Islam gave Arabic a more prominent role.

I think someone has misunderstood what Rezkallah was saying. Jesus' listeners already spoke Aramaic in the areas where he traveled (which did not include Syria). There was no need for him to spread the language.

This sounds encouraging:

Georges Rezkallah, his mustache and sideburns flecked with gray, says he is about the only one left in the village who can read, write, and speak Aramaic fluently.

Mr. Rezkallah has devoted his life to preserving the language of his ancestors. Now, the mayor of the village wants him to share his knowledge.

"Now, we are trying to build a center," he said. "This is what the mayor has told me - to build a new center. He asked us to come and train a number of teachers, 25 or more."