The Alahan Monastery is a one hour walking distance from the village of Alahan, located in the province of Mersin

Mersin Province

The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. The site is being considered to be put on the World Heritage list of sites who have "outstanding universal value" to the world.

History

The Christian monastery at Alahan is located in the mountains of Isauria

Isauria

Isauria , in ancient geography, is a rugged isolated district in the interior of South Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surroundings in the Konya province of Turkey, or the core of the Taurus Mountains. In...

 in Southern Asia Minor near Mut

Mut, Mersin

Mut is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.Mut is a rural district at the foot of the Sertavul Pass on the road over the Taurus Mountains from Ankara and Konya to the Mediterranean coast at Anamur or Silifke...

 on the road between Karaman

Karaman

Karaman is a town in south central Turkey, located north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to 2000 census, the population of the province is 231 872 of which 132,064 live in the town of Karaman. The district covers an area...

 and Silifke

Silifke

-Antiquity:Located a few miles from the mouth of the Calycadnus River, Seleucia was founded by Seleucus I Nicator in the early 3rd century BCE, one of several cities he named after himself. It is probable that there were already towns called Olbia and Hyria and that Seleucus I merely united them...

. Altitude: 1250 m. with a splendid view over the valley of Göksu river. Constructed at the second half of the fifth century but already abandoned in the seventh century. Its remains include two churches, one (The East Church) is extremely well preserved, a baptistery, a colonnaded runway running the full length of the site, and a couple of subsidiary buildings, plus some old caves and graves. The complex may be funded by Emperor Zeno

Zeno (emperor)

Zeno , originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues...

 (474-491), who was from the region. The buildings stretches along the side of the mountain and covers an area of 30x200 meters. It is quite possible that the monastery official, and monks lived in the houses surrounding the complex. The monastery stands as the finest achievement of native Isaurian stonemasons and sculptors. Alahan is a key site in the history of early Byzantine

Byzantine

Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...

 architecture, half a century before the great achievements of Anicia Juliana

Anicia Juliana

Anicia Juliana was a Roman imperial princess, the daughter of the Western Roman Emperor Olybrius, of the Anicii, by Placidia the younger, daughter of Emperor Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia....

 and Justinian in Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

.

World Heritage Status

This site was added to the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Tentative List on February 25, 2000 in the Cultural category.