Forty Saints Monastery

The Monastery of the Forty Saint Martyrs (Albanian: Rrënojat e Manastirit të 40 Shenjtorëve, Greek: Ιερά Μονή των Αγιών Σαράντα Μαρτύρων, Iera Moni ton Agion Saranta Martyron) is a ruined Eastern Orthodox monastery overlooking the coastal city of Sarandë in southern Albania. The monastery was erected during the 6th century AD and possibly became for at least one millennium the most important pilgrimage site in the Ionian Sea region. The name of the monastery (Agioi Saranta in Greek meaning Forty Saints) was transferred to the adjacent city of Onchesmos. During the Peoples Republic of Albania (1944-1991) the site was transformed into a military installation. Today only a part of the side walls of its basilica type church survive.