Sharjah24 – Reuters: Sumela Monastery, located in Turkey’s northwestern Black Sea province of Trabzon, was visited by more than 26,033 people in 22 days.
Also known as Mother Mary, or Virgin Mary, it is carved out of rocks in a wooded area on the slope of Mt. Karadag in Macka -- 300 meters (984 feet) above the Altindere Valley.
The monastery, one of the most important faith tourism centers of Turkey, was closed in 2015 due to a risk of falling rocks from the nearby Karadag Mountain.
Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry launched a restoration project in February 2016 for environmental planning, researching and reinforcing the rocks geologically and geotechnically. The first phase of the project was completed and part of the monastery except its yard was opened to visitors in May 2019.
With the completion of a considerable part of the second phase, 65% of the monastery was opened on July 28, 2020. The opening was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan via teleconference and by Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy at the location.
As part of the project, some rocks that posed a danger were brought down, some places were surrounded with steel webbing and the inner parts were restored at Sumela Monastery, which was closed down for almost five years.
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