Ishan Church (monastery)

It is located in the  Ihsan village of Yusufeli district.

According to a  Manuscript dated 951  the church was built by the priest  Seba who is the newphew and student of priest Khandza .King Andernese had  supported and given a financial assistance during the building of church. Construction of the monastery began in 955 in the time of Georgian King  David and completed , finished by  Magistros  in 1027.

Virgin Mary Chapel situated in the Southwest  of the Church.  Structure is in a length of 35 mt.  and 20.75 cm in width has  a domed basilica plan type.

There is  a total of 22 different geometric and floral motifs are used to ornament the Church. The decorations are repetitive on the column tiles, window surfaces , pulleys , columns  and decorations do not follow a proper style.

There is a relief depicting  the fight between Lion and Dragon can be seen on the south wall of  the church.

The monastery is used as one of  the five episcopal center of the Coruh River Basin until 17th century. Church was used as the Ottoman army barracks in  19. century during the Ottoman-Russian war, and western part of the church was used as a mosque until 1983.

How to get Ishan Church (monastery) Artvin?

You can either rent a car and drive on the highway of Artvin – Erzurum untill the  92nd km then turn  to the northside and drive more 7 km to get there or take a minibus from Kalkan village of Yusufeli district to get Ishan Church.