Heritage · monastery altered
Sumela Monastery, Trabzon
Trabzon · Greek (Pontic / Anatolian) heritage
· built 386 CE foundation tradition; current structures 14th-19th c.
· 1923
· turkey
Greek Orthodox monastery cut into a cliff face above the Altındere valley near Trabzon. Pilgrimage centre of the Pontic Greek community. Closed during the 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange; the monastic library was scattered, the icons and relics taken to Greece. Reopened as a museum under the Turkish state 1972; one Liturgy permitted per year since 2010.
Greek Orthodox monastery cut into a cliff face above the Altındere valley near Trabzon. Pilgrimage centre of the Pontic Greek community. Closed during the 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange; the monastic library was scattered, the icons and relics taken to Greece. Reopened as a museum under the Turkish state 1972; one Liturgy permitted per year since 2010.