Trabzon
Popular places to visit in Trabzon;
First Day
It’s the best thing to start the day with a breakfast in one of the restaurants serving local cuisine of Trabzon. Thereafter you can start visiting cultural, historical, and natural places at the city center.
You will find several addresses you can visit in the city. But you’ve to choose!
What about The Atatürk Mansion as the first stop? It’s a spectacular building where Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wrote his will in Trabzon, the city he visited for 3 times. Then, go and visit the well-preserved Trabzon Castle Walls, the oldest buildings in the city.
Trabzonspor is the one of the most important values of the city. So, going to Trabzonspor Museum is a good option. There, you can find the trophies, old uniforms, crampons, and many other materials in relation to Trabzonspor history. Let’s continue with another museum. City Museum is where you can find the government, education, sports, media, press, health, culture, art, oral and transportation history of Trabzon as well as Trabzon’s topography, architectural texture, urban texture, cultural and economic structure, traditional crafts and touristic values in 3-D.
And please don’t finish the first day before visiting Boztepe, which overlooks the city, are among the most significant places you can visit on your first day in the city.
PS, you will find a variety of local restaurants in the downtown. Discover the best tastes of Trabzon!
Second Day
On your second day in the city, you can first visit the Sümela Monastery -the most important cultural asset of the city included in UNESCO’s tentative heritage list built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor I. Theodosius (375-395) at the mountain foot of Karadağ overlooking the Altındere Valley in Maçka; and the Ayavarvara Monastery near Sümela Monastery dating back to 18th-19th centuries which is likely to be connected to Sümela Monastery.
The second station of the second day may be Uzungöl, where you will be welcomed by the blue sky, snow white clouds and a very green forest.
Monasteries of The Black Sea
Maçka, Trabzon
Sümela Monastery, which is located on a steep and rocky area in Altındere Valley in the town of Maçka near the city of Trabzon, offers a combination of nature, history, and culture. It is believed that the monastery was constructed in the 4th century, although Alexios III Megas Komnenos (1349-1390) was the actual founder. The monastery is also known to locals as “Meryem Ana” (Virgin Mary). The majestic complex, built 1,200 meters above sea level, has been recently restored. Not far from Sümela Monastery, in the city of Trabzon, is Vazelon Monastery which is one of the oldest monasteries in Anatolia. Also called “Zouvalon,” the monastery is believed to have been built around AD 270 and is dedicated to John the Baptist.
Sümela Monastery (The Monastery of the Virgin Mary), Trabzon
UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List 2020
Sümela Monastery, a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is located 35 km south of Trabzon and 8 km from the town of Maçka. The monastery’s construction on the Pontic Mountains began in AD 385 and continued up to the 19th century. According to one theory, it was founded by the Athenian monks Barnabas and his nephew Sophronios. The monastery became famous for an icon of the Virgin Mary, believed to have been painted by the Apostle Luke. Recent conservation and preservation work have made it much easier to visit this magnificent monastery. The Altındere National Park, where the monastery is located, adds a lot to the beauty of the scenery.
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