Man-made masterpieces of the past still do not cease to amaze modern historians and archaeologists. One of the oldest temples is located exactly on a cliff wall near Trabzon, a picturesque Black Sea town. This shrine is one of the most difficult to access in the world, which has never stopped Orthodox pilgrims. Let us and you and I go on a virtual tour of the majestic structure - the Sumela Monastery.
Why is this place so attractive? It turns out that from the beginning of its foundation, and this is not much, not a little 386 years after the birth of Jesus, an icon of particular importance for those who profess Christianity was kept inside - the Virgin Panagia Sumela, created by the Apostle Luke. Luke is the author of the Gospel, a disciple of Christ himself. He patronizes doctors and artists. The face of the saint is also of great importance among Catholicism.
Judging by the historical annals, the monastery was founded by two monks - Barnabis and Safronius. However, the decision was not made out of mind, before the holy fathers began designing the structure, the appearance of the Virgin Mary herself occurred. During this action, Maria said that it was necessary to find and take away the icon painted by Luke and hide it in the most inaccessible place - in Trebizond (as Trabzon was previously called), we will build a monastery on Mount Mela. Then the future monks went in search of the icon and found it within the walls of the Thebes temple. Local ministers respectfully listened to the visitors and handed over the shrine for a good cause. It took a lot of work to climb Mount Mela, but their faith united with the monks of the already existing monastery of John the Baptist, which stood on the mountain peak of Zebulun. They also helped in the construction of the stone giant,hidden among natural greenery.
In gratitude to their colleagues, Barnabius and Safrony signed a decree every seventh year to equip a mule with vessels of oil and wax and send it as a gift to Mount Zabulon. Evidence of this was recorded up to 1800. The Christian world very quickly learned about the new monastery and the holy icon. A series of pilgrimage tours were drawn from European states. Due to the large influx of people, guest houses began to be cut down in the rocks.
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Despite such a dangerous location of the church at the monastery walls, they still began to be raided and robbed, only the Icon of the Mother of God, which was carefully guarded by the ministers, was never damaged, as Mary ordered. In subsequent centuries, especially under Byzantium, the monastery acquired a large number of privileges and even lands. Even under the Ottomans, the holy place continued to flourish, and the sultan took care of the shrine, despite the difference in religions.
The happy days ended in the middle of the 19th century, when the Ecumenical Patriarchate blocked all powers of the monastery guardians and ministers. During World War I, the local population looted and destroyed more than half of the unique wall murals, icons and other images of saints. The persecution of the Christian population forced the monks to flee, who did not forget to grab the very icon, because of which such a monumental structure was formed. At first it was buried, in fear that the Turks would simply burn such a treasure, and later in 1923 it was transported by secret routes to Athens, from where it went to permanent storage in the walls of a specially built temple in the city of Naousa.
Nowadays, the monastery is still located in its former place, like its additional buildings, and since 2016, a global restoration has begun there. Now the passage to the cells themselves and the main buildings is blocked by a working fence, you can only admire from the side. The restoration period is given until 2019, but for now you can just spend a great day among the greenery of a mixed forest, a deep canyon and picturesque places with a turbulent mountain stream. The entrance to the territory of the National Park is paid - 10 Turkish lira, but in addition to admiring the nature, there are restaurants and small wooden hotels, as well as the opportunity to arrange a personal picnic with a barbecue in a specially designated area. From the city of Trabzon to the park itself there is a trail with incredible views.