Bergecn

30-Aug-23 -

After several years of extensive renovations the Sümela Monastery (Μονή Παναγίας Σουμελά) was reopened partially in 2019 and 2020.  We were very lucky to participate in a restricted service on the day of the Dormition of the Theotokos or Feast of the Assumption of St.Mary on 15 August 2020. Only about 50 people could attend due to Covid-19 restrictions.  This made it a very special and moving event.  

The monastery, on the WHS tentative list since 2000, is high up in the mountains above Trabzon on the slope of Mt. Karadag in the town of Macka facing the Altındere valley and can be reached by car.  It is advisable to check if any special permit is needed on the day you want to visit (this is normally the case on 15 August).  Opening hours are daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m; the address is Altındere Mahallesi, Altındere Vadisi, 61750; E-mail: trabzonmuzesi@kultur.gov.tr ; ticket price is 450 TL.  You need to climb a few steps from the parking lot to the entrance of the monastery complex.

The monastery, dedicated to Virgin Mary, was founded in the 4th century by two Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronios.  It became a centre for science and culture with a well endowed library. It continued to exist after the Ottoman conquest of Trabzon; and was used until 1923.  It was reopened for religious services in 2010, with a liturgy celebrated by the Ecumenical Greek-Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeus, and closed again temporarily in 2015.  The restoration of the monastery included landscaping and protecting the access routes from falling rocks, all paid by the Turkish government.

The Sümela Monastery is built on a steep cliff with its church deep in a natural cave showing impressive frescos with motives drawn from the Bible.  Unfortunately, many of the frescos were vandalised over the centuries.  A restorer present in the church explained to us that frescos showing biblical scenes were found from different periods and painted on top of each other.  It was possible to make the paintings visible but it was hard to decide which one to show in the end. In one corner of the church this dilemma is well documented showing the different layers of work. 

Apart from the church, ten chapels of various sizes, libraries, a bell tower, holy springs, a two-story kitchen and accommodations for monks and guests are spread over a large area and are now restored and open to visitors.   The exterior of the monastery is impressive to see from afar as the large building from 1840 towers over several floors with balconies and windows clinging to the steep rock of the mountain.  There is a good vantage point 350m down the road from the monastery near the Aya Varvara (St. Barbara) church.  

You can visit other nearby monasteries: Kustul Monastery also on a cliff; the Vazelon Monastery and the Kaymakli Monastery.  And if you are hungry there are several nice places on the way back to town that serve Kuymak (Mıhlama), a filling corn flour and cheese dish, famous in the Pontic Black Sea region; and Laz helvası a delicious custard like dessert made of semolina flour, home to Trabzon.