Sümela Monastery

I visited Sümela Monastery in fall 2024. It is possible to reach it via tour from Trabzon, although you can also drive yourself, if you prefer. The walk inside involves a lot of steep stairs up and down -- keep that in mind when choosing your shoes! You can also explore a lot of the rooms, which involves ducking and squeezing into various corners of the monastery. Unfortunately, a lot of the wall art is vandalized and you can find a lot of graffiti where ever you go on the site. There are not any plaques explaining what you see in depth, only some sparse signs that say what each room would have been used for. However, I think with the addition of signs that explain the historical context, the site would be greatly improved. The price for foreigners is steep. I remember paying around $20! 

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 …