Trabzon Sumela Monastery part 6 : Christian Pontus
336-280 demoThe 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 Sumela Monastery was closed down. Those who migrated founded a new monastery at Verria (formerly Kara Ferye) in Macedonia. Their reluctance to part with their old memories and desire to keep traditions alive were signified by a modern icon of the Virgin Mary placed in the monastery.
The deserted monastery swiftly deteriorated and a fire which broke out in 1930 destroyed all the wooden parts of the buildings. A great deal of needless destruction was inflicted by persons supposedly searching for treasure, this time the stone part of the structure being destroyed. The first thing to attract one’s attention here is the ruined state of the walls, together with the fact that all the frescos have been expertly removed and obviously taken away. This task could not have been carried out successfully by the local population. It is obvious that it was done by foreign souvenir-hunters with some knowledge of the subject.
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