Sumela Monastery in northern Türkiye lures growing number of visitors

By Meltem Yilmaz Karakurum

TRABZON, Türkiye (AA) - The ancient Sumela Monastery in Türkiye’s Black Sea province of Trabzon province offers nature, history and culture to its visitors and has hosted nearly 600,000 visitors, a Turkish official said.

"After the restoration, the monastery reopened on July 1, 2021, and welcomed 597,742 visitors until June 29, 2023, despite being closed for certain periods," Tamer Erdogan, the director of the provincial directorate of culture and tourism in Trabzon, told Anadolu.

Also known as Mother Mary, or Virgin Mary, it is carved out of rocks in a wooded area on the slope of Mt. Karadag in Macka – 300 meters (984 feet) above the Altindere Valley.

The monastery, which is included in UNESCO's temporary list of World Heritage sites, was reopened for religious practice on Aug. 15, 2010, with permission from the Culture and Tourism Ministry, following decades-long hiatus.

The world-famous Sumela Monastery, one of Türkiye’s important religious tourism sites, was closed to visitors in September 2015 due to the risk of rockfall.

The restoration of the monastery complex began in February 2016 and was completed after landscaping, geological and geotechnical research, and strengthening of the rocks.

The ancient building reopened on July 1, 2021, and was temporarily closed on Nov. 1 the same year due to the risk of rockfall. It was opened again in May last year.