Photos

The Sümela Monastery stands at the foot of a steep cliff facing the Altındere valley in the region of Maçka in Trabzon Province, Turkey. It lies at an altitude of about 1200 metres overlooking much of the alpine scenery below.

The monastery was founded in the year 386 by two Athenian priests - Barnabas and Sophronius according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture .Legend states that they found an icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain and decided to remain in order to establish the monastery.

It reached its present form in the 13th century after gaining prominence during the reign of Alexios III (1349 - 1390) of the Komnenian Empire of Trebizond (established in 1204). At that time, it was granted an income from imperial funds. During the time of Manuel III , son of Alexius III, and the reigns of later princes, Sümela gained further wealth from new imperial grants.

Following the conquest by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1461, it was granted protection by order of the Sultan and given rights and privileges which were renewed by following Sultans. Monks and travellers continued to journey there throughout the years and the monastery was extremely popular up until the 19th century.

It was finally abandoned in 1923, following the population exchanges between Greece and Turkey after the Treaty of Lausanne.
now its a touristic attraction.

sumela manastiri (trabzon) 386 yilinda iki atinali rahip tarafindan kurulmus ve tarih icinde birkac kez yikilmis, ardindan restore edilmis.

fatih sultan mehmed tarafindan trabzon alininca, buraya onem verilmis ve devam ettrilmis. muteakip padisahlar da bu yapilan anlasmalari yenilemis. 1923 yilinda yapilan lozan anlasmasi ve muteakip nufus degisimi sonucu, manastir kapanmis ve gunumuzde turistlerin gozdesi bir yer olmus.