Монастырь Сумела

If you look at Sumela Monastery from the valley road, it seems almost impossible. A row of stone buildings is fixed to a sheer rock face far above the trees, with open air overhead and very little below. Some version of it has held on to that ledge for many hundreds of years, and today no sight along the Turkish Black Sea coast draws more visitors. A visit means a drive through the forest, a climb on foot, and then time in the courtyard, the chapels and the cave church, whose walls are painted both inside and outside.

Key facts

History

According to tradition, two Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronios, founded the monastery in the 4th century after discovering an icon of the Virgin Mary inside a cave in the cliff. It was believed that St Luke had painted the icon, and it explains the dedication to the Virgin under the name Panagia Soumela.

The community grew under Byzantine rule and later under the emperors of Trebizond. Ottoman sultans also showed it respect and upheld its privileges. Most of what stands today was built in the 18th and 19th centuries, while the cave church and a number of the frescoes are older. In 1923, during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the monks left and took the icon with them; it now resides in a monastery in northern Greece.

The buildings lay neglected for decades before gradual restoration brought them back and allowed visitors in again. Since 2010 an Orthodox service has been held here on 15 August for the Dormition feast, drawing pilgrims from Greece and other countries.

What to look for

• The approach. A trail climbs through the trees to a flight of steps, which lead you into the complex beneath the overhanging rock.
• Cave church. This is the heart of Sumela: a church set inside a cave, with frescoes on its inner and outer walls from several periods.
• Frescoes. Scenes from the Bible and the lives of saints, with rows of figures in bold reds, blues and golds. Over the years vandals have scratched away many of the faces.
• Buildings around the courtyard. Monks' cells, a library, a kitchen, guest rooms and a bakery, lined up on narrow terraces.
• Aqueduct. A series of arches once carried water down from the mountain; you pass them near the entrance.

How to reach it

There is no regular bus or train to the site. Visitors usually come on a tour, or take a taxi or rental car from Trabzon. The road follows the Degirmendere river south to Macka, then climbs through dense woodland into Altindere Valley National Park. Allow about an hour each way from Trabzon. Near the monastery the park has picnic spots and riverside restaurants that serve trout.

Best time to visit

Late spring to early autumn is the busy season. Low cloud often sits in the valley and can block the view of the monastery from below, yet it gives the woods a moody atmosphere. On summer weekends visitors come from across Turkey; weekday mornings are calmer. Winter snow and ice can make the trail tricky, so check conditions before you go.

Our Sumela full-day trip fills a whole day from Trabzon, adding Karaca Cave, Hamsikoy village and the Zigana Pass on the way to Sumela. It runs for eight to nine hours and starts at US$120. If you also want to see Trabzon itself, our day in Trabzon covers the local Hagia Sophia and the historic quarters from US$75. Uzungol Lake is the other well-known day trip from Trabzon.

Tips

• Leave time for the uphill path. The climb takes 15 to 20 minutes from the lower area, with some steep sections.
• Bring a rain jacket. Black Sea weather is wet all year round.
• Flash photography is not allowed around the frescoes.
• Stop in Hamsikoy, a village on the way, known for its rice pudding.
• Before you start walking, look up from the bottom of the valley; the view of the cliff from there is often the best one.

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