sumela monastery

Sumela Monastery is situated in a very beautiful valley and looking up to the monastery from the slight glimpses you get from the road looks very impressive. You can also get a good view to the outside of the monastery from the steps leading from / to the restaurant below. However that's about it. After you pay 15 TL each you are able to see probably less than a third of the interior - the chapel with its very damaged/ graffiti spoilt frescoes; renovated bare stone rooms; and barricades blocking off the remainder. No real information or sense that it is / was a Monastery. You do not get any sense of the scale or location of the Monastery once inside - it is on a cliff face! And, large from the outside. It is really restricted and disappointing. It could and should be spectacularly impressive but with its present access is not.

My first visit to Sumela was about 25 years ago. After Long claim up to that hill you couldn't believe that historical building. When I went to visit my family ,had change revisit again. This time looking more look after and facility in that area are better. Still fantastic view what a fantastic place !

It's just like cartoons. Lol a place in the mountain you can't imagine how they built it.. and you can enjoy the mountain view and eat some ice.cream from the shop there..

This place is absolutely amazing. The city of Trabzon itself isn't so spectacular, but this place is. Perched high on a cliff in the mountains south of the city, it's got fantastic views and a rich history. All the more fun driving up the side of the mountain on a one lane unprotected road in the snow. My only sadness is the vast amount of grafitti people have carved into the 1000 year old frescos of the church. Security is much better now to prevent that, and I hope the restoration that's ongoing can minimize it, but it was a bit shameful.

Amazing from a distance, even better close too.The monastery can be reached either by a 1.2 km hike from the car park or by dolmus which takes you to within 300 metres. Both are pretty tough going for the infirm.The monastery is well preserved and has beautiful frescoes which have withstood centuries of snow, wind, rain and scorching sun. Unfortunately the lower ones have been seriously damaged by vandals in recent years. The site is now under the protection of the Turkish government with 24 hour guards, CCTV and severe punishment for future culprits.A must to visit.

The The view is breathtaking; the main church build in a cave is full of fresco of great value. You can visit only a fraction of the monastery. Too bad toy cannot visit the baptism hall with the icon of Virgin Mary also you cannot climb to the bell tower,

It is quite the hike, even though the van lets you off about 300 meters away. Lots of thick roots covering the path as well as rocks. Beautiful icon type murals painted throughout the buildings. Magnificent scenery, glad I had a good coat. Truly a highlight of things I've seen.

very beautiful place, you have to walk upstairs for a while to reach it. there is a lot of paintings on the wall even the roof.

It's quite a walk, but wow it's a great view! Full of wonderful history. You must go if you are here!

The climb was a little too steep for my legs...got to be fit to get to the top, once you ge there, you will be amazed! How fit were those ancient monks?

Starting from 4th century till 1920 it was a Greek Orthodox monastery . Nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of about 1,200 metres it is a site of great historical and cultural significance, as well as a major tourist attraction in Trabzon area. You need to walk a few minutes from parking to reach this exceptional place , unfortunately day by day devastated by ignoramus creatures .

You cannot even imagine how they built that monastery there many centuries ago. Walking up to entrance is already a very tiring experience. However it worth so much to climb there and see the amazing view and structure.

It obviously took a lot of effort to build this remarkable monastery in the location which is so beautiful but inaccessible. The actual interior is more like a small open-air museum and the best photographs are taken on the road up to the site if you are able to stop on the narrow road. The mountain views across the valley are breathtaking. There is a very basic cafe at the top but we had lunch in the restaurant at the base of the cliff. There are many transport options available from Trabzon for 30 TL and up. Unfortunately there is very little information on site about the history of the monastery so read up on it beforehand.

Very interesting frm historical point of view but you must be ready to climb high to the mountains,so put on comfortable shoes and if it is agroup of people just take a small bus and you will be able to get by bus there,otherwise you will have to climb by goat path 1200 metres uphill

The trip to the monastery was the highlight of an already wonderful trip. We travelled by car, had no problem finding the place as it was perfectly indicated. The construction is smaller than I expected, but so nice, well preserved and taken care of. The walking paths were wonderful. Make sure that you have cash on you as they do not accept cards. If you have Is Bank credit card, the entrance is free!