The Region of 1001 Churches of Karaman (200s-700s)

The region known as the “Thousand and One Churches” is located in the Turkish province of Karaman. From the 200s to the 700s, it was a major regional center for churches and monasteries that were located on the northern slopes of the volcanic mountain of Karadağ. This region is around 90 miles (150 km) south of Iconium (modern Konya). The impressive Alahan Monastery is located south of Karaman.

In 1907, William Ramsay (1851-1939) and Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) together explored and conducted excavations in the Karaman region. In 1909, they published their findings in the book The Thousand and One Churches. This was republished in 2008 by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeolo- gy and Anthropology. The new edition contains more than 250 high-quality digitized images from the Gertrude Bell Archive at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.