It was a sunny morning in May, and I was in a car with a linguist and a tax preparer trolling the suburbs of Chicago for native speakers of Aramaic, the 3,000-year-old language of Jesus.

But few families remained. Maaloula is one of the world's few places where residents still speak Aramaic, the language that Jesus is believed to have used. The town is also home to Syria's two ...

Maaloula is one of the world's few places where residents still speak Aramaic, the language that Jesus is believed to have used. The town is also home to Syria's two oldest active monasteries.