nuns. The monastery complex is enormous and rich in history, including a huge walled-in, gated courtyard, gardens, a chapel, an inner cloister, and much more. It is home to regular cultural events, but also has rooms for rent that are ideal as a base for visiting all of Slovenia. The Mekinje Monastery is a magnificent, castle-like complex first established in the 13th century. It is located in the heart of Slovenia, one of the world's most beautiful places, with an amazingly diverse landscape spread out over such a small footprint. You can drive across the country in about two and a half hours, but you will find within it everything from karst wine country, coastal Mediterranean beaches, precipitous mountains in the Alpine north, dark fairytale forest studded with castles and churches, rolling hills in the south, the Pannonian plain in the east, where the country merges with Hungary, and a rich cultural life in the cities.