Sumela Monastery, Trabzon, Turkey

Sumela Monastery, Trabzon

The 1000-year-old Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Sumela is among the most impressive sights of Turkey's Black Sea coast.

The monastery's alpine setting, clinging to a sheer rock cliff in the midst of evergreen forests loud with the splash of chill mountain streams, comes as a surprise for those who think of Turkey as a land of rolling steppe. The land around the monastery is now preserved as Altindere National Park.

It's a 1-km (6/10 mile), 35 to 45-minute hike uphill from the parking lot to the monastery entrance. You rise 250 meters (820 feet) in the climb.

The excursion to Sumela is best done as a half-day excursion from Trabzon, 46 km (29 miles) away.

To avoid the crowds, arrive early in the morning--particularly if you want good photographs--and avoid summer weekends when the crowds can be intense.

Bring a picnic lunch to eat at one of the tables next to the vigorously splashing brook, or buy snacks from a vendor.

Distances & Travel Times

Trabzon: 46 km (29 miles) N, 45 minutes

Black Sea Coast

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Above, Sumela Monastery before restoration.

Below, alpine scenery near Sumela.

Alpine Scenery near Sumela Monastery, Trabzon, Turkey