Alahan Monastery

Alahan Monastery is situated 1300 meters above sea level on a steep hillside overlooking Goksu Valley in Mersin, Turkey. It has been known that the first Christians were escaping from tyranny by the Romans, and they settled and built churches and monasteries on the tops of mountains and in caves. Alahan monastery is one of them. Alahan Monastery, founded in 440, is divided into three sections: the Western Church, the Eastern Church, and rock-cut monk chambers and tombs. The churches share common architectural features with the Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul. The figures of St Paul and St Pierre, Gabriel with six wings, Michael's crushing of symbolic creatures, the roaring lion, and a well-preserved sample of stonework can be explored in the ruins.