We slowly make our way further east along the Black Sea and soon head south into the Pontic Mountains to visit the Sumela Monastery. Majestically it clings to the steep cliffs of the mountain. However, we are not treated to this supposedly magnificent sight, as the clouds hang low and the monastery is high up. Although we cannot see the monastery from a distance, we are able to visit it up close in a completely mystical atmosphere.
The Sumela Monastery is a historic Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Founded in the late 4th century, it is attributed to two Athenian monks, Barnabas and Sophronius, who, according to tradition, discovered an icon of the Virgin painted by the Apostle Luke in a nearby cave. The monastery gained prominence during the Byzantine and later the Empire of Trebizond periods, receiving imperial patronage and undergoing significant expansion in the 13th century. After the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century, it retained a degree of autonomy and remained an active monastic center until its abandonment in 1923 following the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Afterwards, we drive further south into the mountains. This is more by chance, as we pick up a French hitchhiker who is trying to get to a remote mountain lake. Since we don’t have any better plans ourselves, we spontaneously decide to drive there and take her with us. It’s a win-win situation, because the atmosphere up there is breathtaking. The clouds are so thick the next morning that Svenja gets a little lost on her daily morning walk with Apollo…!