In Turkey, one of the oldest Marian monasteries in the world

The impressive Sumela monastery in Turkey is nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of about 3,900 ft in the eastern Black Sea region. This 1,700 year-old monastery is one of the oldest and most important monasteries in the world. According to tradition, it was founded in the 4th century, at the start of the Byzantine Empire, by two priests from Athens.

Dedicated to the Mother of God, Sumela was for centuries an important religious center and a training center for monks. The frescoes of this church depict scenes from the Bible, the life of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. During the Ottoman rule on the east coast of the Black Sea, the sultans preserved the rights and granted certain privileges to Sumela, as they did for many other monasteries.

With the construction of higher buildings in the nineteenth century, the monastery lived its most prosperous and brilliant period. It became famous for an icon of Mother of God known as the Panagia Gorgoepekoos, said to have been painted by the Apostle Luke himself. The monastery was seized during the Russian occupation that began in 1916 and lasted two years. It was completely abandoned after 1923.

On August 15, 2010, Orthodox Divine Liturgy was allowed to be held in the monastery. A special pass issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is now required to visit on August 15th, the day of the Dormition of the Theotokos or Feast of the Assumption. As of 2012, the Turkish government started funding reconstruction work, and the monastery is now enjoying a revival in pilgrimages from Greece and Russia.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims come to visit this monastery which remains a sacred place for Christians in Turkey.

Adapted from Tourisme en Turquie