The Monastery of Euthymius started as a lavra-type monastic settlement in the Judean desert, founded by Saint Euthymius the Great (377–473) in 420, known as the 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’s-Jericho highway.
