Surat al-Kahf (18:9–26) tells of a group of young believers who, persecuted for their faith, took refuge in a cave and by Allah's will slept there for many years. 18:17 describes how the rising sun inclined away from their cave to the right and the setting sun passed it on the left. The Quran does not state the cave's location, the number of the youths or when they lived; it even advises against disputing their number (18:22).
Different places have been proposed for the cave: the Christian tradition of the "Seven Sleepers of Ephesus" points to Ephesus; some Islamic sources and local traditions point to Tarsus and to Afşin (Kahramanmaraş); some contemporary researchers point to al-Raqim near Amman in Jordan.
As there is no conclusive evidence for any of these, all markers on the map are proposed locations; the main marker shows Ephesus.