Trabzon is one of the most important and largest ports on the Black Sea Coast. It is the gateway to this Sumela Monastery built into the face of a cliff. History shows a lot of them built at inaccessible places to keep away the looters, but very few showcase what this one does.

Built in 386 AD, and perched some 1200 meters above the surrounding forest area, the Monastery has a very large and posh complex. Legend claims its site of creation was inspired by the find of an icon of Virgin Mary there. The history of the past centuries is interesting if you wanna go thru it.

Today, it is one of the major tourist attractions for these simple reasons: it is a museum, its aesthetic, it’s in beautiful surroundings involving forests and streams, it has a religious significance and not many monasteries around the world can showcase such opulence, grandeur and style.

Trabzon is connected to Istanbul by a 1h40m flight, about 8-9 times a day.