An ancient monastery clings to the edge of a steep cliff, defying the elements and time itself.

Sümela Monastery, nestled in eastern Turkey, holds centuries of untold stories within its ancient stone walls.

Founded in the 4th century CE by early Christian settlers along the Black Sea coast, this sacred site has witnessed the rise and fall of empires — from the Roman to the Byzantine, the Ottomans’ rise to power, and the fight for Turkish independence after World War I, enduring both neglect and restoration in modern times.

Sümela’s stunning location rivals its history, perched nearly 1,000 feet above a lush valley. This cliffside marvel includes chapels, courtyards, a library, living quarters, a bell tower, aqueducts, and a sacred spring, all seemingly placed by the hand of a master architect rather than nature.

Each day, thousands of visitors, from devout pilgrims to awe-struck tourists, are drawn to Sümela by its incredible frescoes, gravity-defying architecture, and the promise of a UNESCO World Heritage status in the making.

Once a thriving religious community, the monastery is now a state-run museum, having undergone extensive restoration to ensure its safety for tourists while repairing damage caused by fires, looters, vandals, and unruly visitors.

Levent Alniak, the manager of museums and historic sites in Trabzon province, explains, “Falling rocks have always been an issue here.” To protect both the monastery and its visitors, industrial mountain climbers were enlisted to secure the cliffside, using steel cables and heavy-duty metal stakes to install protective netting and barriers along the towering rock face.

The restoration efforts uncovered hidden gems, including a secret tunnel leading to a previously unknown chapel, which may have once served as a lookout post to defend the monastery. Inside, archaeologists discovered stunning frescoes depicting the contrasts of heaven and hell, life and death.

Reviving the Monastery’s Frescoes

The restoration of the monastery’s breathtaking frescoes is an ongoing, labor-intensive project carried out by skilled art restoration professionals. During the summer months, when the dry conditions allow, visitors have the rare opportunity to observe experts as they carefully remove graffiti and other damage that accumulated when the monastery was abandoned and unprotected between the 1920s and 1960s.

Senol Aktaş, a restorer working on an 18th-century fresco of the Virgin Mary speaking with an angel on the Rock Church's facade, recalls, 'For many years, there was little oversight, leading to extensive vandalism. People carved their names and other markings on the frescoes, which we’re now working to erase by repainting over the graffiti with colors and techniques that match the originals.'

While the exterior frescoes are stunning, they are overshadowed by the even older and more striking images inside the church. Beneath its outer shell, the church opens into a vast cave adorned with 13th-century frescoes. The ceiling features large portraits of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, while the walls depict angels, apostles, and saints, including a graphic portrayal of St. Ignatius being torn apart by lions in a Roman arena.

Many of the lower frescoes, within reach of human hands, have had their eyes scratched out. Some believe these images were intentionally defaced by Muslims.

Öznur Doksöz, a long-time guide at Sümela, offers another perspective, suggesting that the damage may have been caused by local people who revered the Virgin Mary, a holy figure in Islam. 'People believed that by scratching her face, especially her eyes, and drinking the water mixed with the paint chips, they would receive a blessing. We can't be certain of this story, but it's what the locals say,' she explains.

Sümela’s legendary and storied origins

The true origins of the monastery remain shrouded in mystery, with some considering its founding story to be more legend than fact.

According to legend, Sümela’s history dates back to 386 CE, when Greek monks Barnabas and Sophronios, led by a vision of the Virgin Mary, discovered a hidden icon painted by the Apostle Luke in the Pontic Alps. This icon, known as the Panagia Soumela, was found in a cave that would later become the site of the Rock Church.

The cave became a pilgrimage site for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 13th century that the monastery as we know it today was established by Orthodox monks, during the reign of the last Christian kingdom in the region. The monastery continued to thrive under Ottoman rule, which began in 1461.

Although the Ottomans were Muslim rulers, they allowed a remarkable level of religious freedom to their subjects, as long as they remained loyal to the emperor.

Alniak explains, 'At times, they would convert a church into a mosque, such as the famous Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. But for the most part, they allowed Christians to practice their faith freely.' The Ottomans even supported key Christian sites, with the sultans viewing Sümela as a sacred place and providing donations and additional land to the monks.

Sümela attracted both Christian and Muslim pilgrims and remained an active Greek Orthodox monastery until the early 20th century. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, the ethnic Turks and Greeks engaged in a civil conflict, which culminated in 1923 with a large-scale population exchange between the Asian and European parts of the former empire.

As the population exchange unfolded, many Greeks from the Pontic Alps and the nearby Black Sea coast, including the monks of Sümela, relocated to Greece. In anticipation of being robbed during their journey, the monks secretly buried the monastery's treasures in the Altindere Valley, hoping to recover them in the future.

The abandoned monastery became a hotspot for treasure hunters eager to find its hidden riches. The Panagia Soumela was eventually retrieved by the monks and is now displayed at the Nea Sumela Monastery in northern Greece. However, some artifacts were smuggled out of Turkey and are now kept in museums or private collections worldwide.

In the 1970s, Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism initiated efforts to preserve and restore Sümela as a national treasure. Over the years, access to the site has been improved to facilitate visits by both tourists and pilgrims.

A significant turning point in the monastery's revival occurred on August 15, 2010, during the Feast Day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, when the Archbishop of Constantinople held the first Orthodox service at Sümela in 88 years. This ceremony is now an annual tradition, with worshippers allowed to pray at the monastery throughout the year.

Visiting Sümela Today

Sümela Monastery is located in Altındere Valley National Park, about an hour's drive south of Trabzon, a popular resort city along Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast.

Visitors can either drive themselves or join guided van and minibus tours organized by travel agencies in Trabzon. Once at the parking area, shuttle buses take guests to the base of a steep hill, where steps lead up to the monastery entrance.

The entry fee is 20 euros or 60 Turkish lira. The monastery is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. between June and September, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the rest of the year. A short documentary about the restoration process is shown in one of the former monk's cells. Plan to spend about one to two hours exploring the site.

Just outside the entrance, you'll find a small shop offering snacks and souvenirs, vending machines, outdoor seating, and restrooms.

Visitors are advised to wear sturdy footwear and dress appropriately for the weather, as rain is possible during the warmer months and snow may fall in winter.

Trabzon is about a 13-hour drive from Istanbul, but you can reach it in less than two hours by air. Turkish Airlines operates flights between Istanbul and Trabzon ten times daily.

The nearest accommodation to the monastery is in Coşandere village, which has options like the three-star Sümela Holiday Hotel. For more choices, Trabzon offers a variety of hotels, including the seaside Ramada Plaza and the hilltop Radisson Blu.