Turkey's Black Sea coast

Inside the monastery, every surface is decorated
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An article published in the Weekend Argus Travel supplement on 10th June 2006

Sunday’s are not good for travel, so I wasn’t surprised when the dolmus to Altindere National Park was cancelled. Having seen pictures of Sumela Monastery, clinging to a cliff, this was something I definitely had to see. What now?

Sumela Monastery soaring above thick vegetation

A few days earlier I left grey-drizzly Kars, near the Armenian border, on a journey that was painful to my ears. Batteries flat for Mp3 player and ears exposed to Kurdish music - awful music, sad, melancholy, agonising, generally male and pitched at high tenor level, lyrics about the loss of love. I groaned throughout the same song on the three-hour journey.

Sumela Monastery clings to the cliffside high above the tree-tops
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Leaving bleak Anatolia behind, we reached riotously green mountain scenery covered with extensive deciduous forest, dissected by deep valleys on the edge of the Kachkar Mountains, one of the prime trekking regions in Turkey. The coastal area has a temperate climate, protected by the mountain chain, scattered with fields of corn, tobacco and tea with orchards of cherries and hazelnuts on the lower slopes. Suddenly our first glimpse of the Black Sea (Karadeniz) from the highest point before diving through tea plantations - they grow a lot of tea in Turkey, but then they drink a lot too!

Sprawling across the mountainside is Trabzon, the biggest port on Eastern Turkey’s Black Sea coast. A large, noisy, disappointing town full of old buildings, including Aya Sofia (Church of Divine Wisdom) with superb frescoes, completed in 1263.

It was Wednesday and market day. Gold-toothed ladies selling black cherries glistening under watery sunlight next to churns of milk and cheese, as well as hazelnuts - regarded as sacred in ancient times and a symbol of peace and health. The Russian market sells mainly trinkets and trash. Since the Georgian border opened, many Russians visit coastal towns with some setting up trade initiating a boom in prostitution, so-called natashas plying their trade. Not a place to stay for long but a transit point to access the 13^th century Sumela Monastery.

Catching a dolmusto the new-looking Macka, the closest town to Sumela, the driver warned of no public transport to the monastery and suggested a taxi. Solitary, I walked in the direction of Sumela, darting between young trees searching out solace from soaring temperatures. Many cars passed before one of them stopped. Squashed between the door, granny, two children and bundles, we climbed Altindere valley, lined with tree-covered slopes split by a gushing river broken by the odd trout farm and alpine style houses. The family came from Aydir, in the Kackar Mountains, and described rolling meadows and mountain climbing, the most challenging in Turkey.

And we climbed, passing colourful tea gardens, and then we climbed some more. Suddenly Sumela Monastery, faded, whitewashed, soaring above thick vegetation of Altindere National Park, almost part of the mountainside clinging to a steep cliff some 300m above, at 1200m. The setting is as exquisite as the miracle of the Monastery, the refuge of the last Turkish Greeks who had a tradition of building monasteries outside cities, preferring forests near to caves and sources of water.

The family dropped me at the car park high above the valley where there was a steep climb to the monastery, thankfully sheltered by tall trees. At the entrance is an aqueduct with many arches, now mostly in ruins. Suddenly I reached the original entryway to the monastery, a long narrow stairway leading to a guardroom with a steep drop on the far side.

The interior of the monastery is impressive with almost every surface covered in 18^th century frescoes and yet appearing smaller than the exterior five-storey façade would suggest. Down a flight of steps and to the right are the library, monks’ cells and guest hotel, dating from 1860. At the bottom is the main shrine-grotto, closed off behind a smaller chapel. The main subject of the frescoes are biblical, with scenes telling the story of Virgin Mary and Christ, unfortunately many are marred with graffiti and pockmarked with catapult shots. In the dim light, apostles float on the ceiling above the Rock Church and are in good condition being harder to vandalise. Neck sore, I found a quiet corner to savour the amazing view of the valley and enjoy the tranquillity of the place.

The monastery was built by Greek Orthodox monks to honour the Virgin Mary, known as Meryemana. The name of the monastery is derived from the Black Mountains, on which it stands or it could have been associated with the black colour of the icon of the Virgin Mary. According to legend, in 385AD and acting on a revelation, two Greek monks Barnabas and Sophronios, discovered the icon of the virgin in a cave on a narrow ledge on a sheer cliff. Sumela matched the one in their vision, so they dedicated a monastery to it.

During the 18th century many of the buildings were restored and the walls decorated with frescoes. In the 19th century the Monastery looked impressive with the addition of larger buildings, this was the Monastery’s heyday, attracting many foreign travellers. During the occupation of Trabzon in 1918, Russians seized the Monastery and in 1923 it was completely abandoned.

Walking along the road, another family, holidaying from the Aegean coast, took me to Trabzon’s bus station. So, it would appear that Sunday is not such a bad day to visit Sumela.

Following the coast I reached Giresun on a fortified cliff surrounded by hazelnut and cherry orchards against a backdrop of the Black Sea, formed 7,500 years ago. Listening to the torrential downpour from my hotel room, the proprietor brought me a cold Efes (beer) enjoyed while reading up on the history of the area. According to Greek mythology, enormous rocks crashed together preventing ships passing into the Black Sea. It wasn’t until Jason and the Argonauts courageously passed safely through on their voyage to the fabled Kingdom of Cochis (Georgia) in search of the Golden Fleece, that the rocks stopped crashing forever. Legend goes that they supposedly stopped over at the only major island on the eastern Black Sea where Amazon queens had erected a shrine to the war god Ares. Nowadays, on May 20^th, the island is the scene of fertility rites dating back 4,000 years to the celebration of Priapus, the phallic god and Cybele, the Anatolian mother goddess.