Monastery of Euthymius
| Monastery of Euthymius | |
|---|---|
Khan el-Ahmar ("Red Caravanserai") | |
The Monastery of Euthymius/Khan el-Ahmar | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Byzantine Romanesque |
| Coordinates | 31°47′32″N 35°20′10″E / 31.79222°N 35.33611°E |
| Palestine grid | 1819/1332 |
The Monastery of Euthymius started as a lavra-type monastic settlement in the Judaean desert, founded by Saint Euthymius the Great (377–473) in 420, known as the Laura or Lavra of Euthymius. After its final abandonment in the 13th century, it was repurposed as a caravanserai and became known as Khan el-Ahmar, the Red Caravanserai, khan being an originally Persian word for inn or caravanserai. Its ruins still stand a short distance south of today's main Jerusalem-Jericho highway in the West Bank.
It should not be confused with the nearby Khan al-Hatruri, better known to visitors as the Good Samaritan Inn, which sometimes also used to be called Khan al-Ahmar.