A report concerning the restoration of Sumela Monastery was recently prepared and relief plans of the eight map sections covered by the monastery drawn up.
THE HEALING WATERS OF THE SUMELA MERYEM ANA MONASTERY (The Monastery of the Virgin Mary)
This short note has been taken from an article by Sabahattin Eyuboglu entitled ‘Anadolu’da HalkHekimligi’ (Folk Medicine […]
Unfortunately, however, no trace of these portraits remains today. Outside, parts of a huge Apocalypse scene, of which only the upper bands remain, can be seen on the rock-face and underneath its flaking plaster other scenes are visible. On the wall of the small chapel a dragon and two mounted figures, St Oeorge and St […]
In spite of the fact that the architectural and artistic value of this structure is disputable it has been regarded in recent years as the most important part of Sumela. However, it is the church in one corner of the inner courtyard that is the most important. The church was formed by hewing away the […]
The Sumela Monastery is reached by means of a steep path through the forest. Its entrance was evidently designed with security in mind and final access to the building was via a long, narrow flight of steps. A large aqueduct abutting the mountainside at the side of the steps brought water to the monastery. Old […]
The Russian invasion of Trabzon, which lasted from 18 April 1916 until 24 February 1918 aroused hopes that a Christian Pontus state would be reborn in Trabzon. The doors were finally slammed on this hope in 1923 after the War of National Liberation, when all Byzantine Greeks in Turkey were sent to Greece and the […]
According to what Fallmerayer wrote in 1840, the monks of Sumela travelled the whole of Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Balkans and even Russia to collect money by selling rather poor copies of the icon referred to above. This money would then betaken backtothe monastery. One of these monks, who was carrying the sum of forty […]
To put it in a nutshell, the Sumela Monastery at Trabzon was first referred to by this name in the Komnenos period. Sumela was founded in what must be the most beautiful spot in the magnificent scenery of this area, in which there are a number of monasteries, places of worship and other buildings of […]
It has not been possible to conduct much research into the age and nature of this Black Madonna. It is clearfrom a good photograph of the icon taken a number of years ago that it has a cracked black wooden surface with a split down the middle on which no lines or paint, in short, […]
It is said that ‘Sumela’ (the Greek name of this monastery, founded in the name the Virgin Mary), comes from the word ‘melas’, which means ‘dark’ or ‘black’. Many consider that this stems from the dark hues of the mountain valley in which the Monastery is situated. However, in the opinion of the author the […]
The ruins of a monastery can be seen on the slopes of the Zigana Mountains to the south of Trabzon and at the foot of the mountain at the bottom of a wooded valley flows one of the tributaries of Degirmen Creek, which terminates at Trabzon. This place is known as ‘Meryem Ana1, or the […]