Trabzon Sumela Monastery part 1
336-280 demoThe 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 Virgin Mary’by the local people. Its old name is ‘Sumela Monastery’. Many people consider its origins to be extremely old, and this opinion is widely held among the Byzantine Greek community of the Black Sea coast. According to legends about the foundation of the monastery in books about Trabzon printed in Greek, the monastery was originally founded in the reign of Theodosius and rebuilt in the sixth century in the reign of Justinian by Belisarios, one of his commanders. However, foreign experts who have conducted on-siteinvestigations consider that there is nothing to substantiate this hypothesis. The Monastery’s main source of income is an icon of the Virgin Mary, which is reputed to be of great age and believed by many to possess miraculous properties. According to the legend, the icon is the work of Saint Luke, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ and it was sent to Athens after the death of Luke. However, in the reign ofTheodosius (4th century) the icon declared its desire to leave Athens and was borne to this hollow in the mountains around Trabzon by angels and placed upon a stone. It was at that time that two hermits by the name ofBarnabus and Sophronius, who were then travelling from Athens to Trabzon, happened to find the icon in this deserted spot. Thus, buildings which are the subject of such legends are automatically regarded as being exceptionally old. Sumela is not the only example of this type, it is only one of a number.
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