Eremit Apr 14, 2009 12:10pm

The Sumela Monastery (Turkish: Sümela Manastırı, Greek: Παναγία Σουμελά) is a former Greek-Orthodox monastery from the Byzantine period in eastern Turkey at Trabzon. The monastery is located 40 km south of Trabzon in the National Altindere in the Pontic Mountains in about 1,200 m altitude. By 500 Emperor Anastasios promoted the construction of a monastery. 640 it was destroyed by a fire. The monk from the monastery Christophoros Vazelon built it again. In the 12th Century it was again destroyed, allegedly by robbers who are looking after the icon was. The icon was unharmed from the river salvaged.