Sumela Monastery

Sumela Monastery is located an hour away from Trabzon, the largest city in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The Greek Orthodox Monastery was founded in 386 AD by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. The last major construction at Sumela was sponsored by Alexios III, Emperor of Trabzon (a splinter kingdom of the rapidly failing Byzantine Empire), in the 13th century. The Ottoman Sultan protected the monastery, but after Attaturk's war of independence against Greece in the 1920s, Greece and Turkey exchanged their respective populations, so the monks had to leave. The site, though now abandoned, is a popular pilgrimage site for Russians and Greeks.

Sumela Monastery is located in Altindere National Park, which is beautiful in its own right.

Rock Church

There is a lot of 200-300+ year old graffiti on Rock Church.

Inside Rock Church

Home bittersweet home at the Hopa-Batumi border crossing. Sarah and I hope to return to Turkey soon!