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THE TOWER
The tower of Hagia Sophia Church was built in 1427. As time passed, the first floor of the tower that was used as a chapel was ruined, the vaulted roof collapsed and the paintings on it destroyed. However, the paintings on the chapel walls have been preserved up to the present day. Arch windows fill the centres of the north and south walls. Beginning in 1443, the depictions on the abscissa wall were completed in a very short time.
THE SUMELA MONASTERY
The Sumela Monastery or, as it is well-known, the Meryem Ana (Virgin Mary) Monastery stands on the foot of a steep cliff facing the Altindere valley in Maçka – a province of the city of Trabzon. The building is about 300 high from the valley and is an example to the tradition of building monasteries outside cities, in forests, in caves, and near sources of water.
The monastery was founded in honour of the Virgin Mary and it is believed that its name comes from the word “melas” which means “black”. Although it may be said that the name derived from the name of “Karadaglar” (Black Mountains) on which it is built, the name can also be associated with the black colour of the Virgin Mary icon. The colour of the icon, which is so dark that it could be described as black, was one of the things that struck the eminent historian J. P. Fallmerayer (1790-1861) when he visited the Monastery in 1840. It is possible that this could be the origin of the name. It is known that the 12th century Georgian Art produced a number of Virgin Mary icons known as Black Madonnas, and that these icons found their ways into a number of monasteries.
The main source of income of the monastery is an icon of Virgin Mary, which is reputed to be of great age and believed by many to possess miraculous properties. According to the legend, which is believed to have been invented in order to make people believe that it is very old and therefore increase the income of the church, the icon is the work of St. Luke, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, and it went to Athens after St. Luke’s death. However, in the reign of Theodosius (4th century), the icon desired to leave Athens, and one day it was brought by angels to its present place and placed upon a stone in the mountains around the city of Trabzon. At around the same time, Barnabas and Sophronios, two monks who travelled from Athens to Trabzon, happened to find the icon in this deserted spot, and they had the main rock grotto built here. Then, in the 6th century, it was restored and enlarged by general Belisarius at the behest of Emperor Justinianus.
According to another legend, Alexios III was saved by Virgin Mary from a terrible tornado and then he had this place built and donated rich foundations. Later on, Chrysobullos set out sturdy principles for these foundations in a decree. A verse consisting of five lines inscribed on a tablet dated 1360, which remained over the monastery gates until 1650, states that “Alexios III, founder of this place, is the emperor of the East and West (Iberia)”. In 1361, Alexios witnessed an eclipse of the sun here at Sumela. The sun depicted on the coins minted by Alexios is considered to refer to this event. In the Deed of Foundation dated 1365, as well as references to the administration, land and income of the monastery there is a warning about the “danger of a Turkish invasion of Trabzon” and the monks are urged “to be always on the alert”
According to scientific investigations, the foundation of the monastery goes as back as to the 13rd century. Shortly, the Sumela Monastery was first referred to by this name in the Comnenos period which started in 1204. The monastery gained importance during the reign of Alexios III (1349-1390) of the Comnenian Empire of Trabzon. Its income was assured from the imperial funds.
Following the conquest of Trabzon and the surrounding area by the Ottomans, the sultans issued decrees protecting the ancient rights of the Sumela Monastery, just as they had for the monasteries on Mount Athos and at Sina. In fact, they even granted certain privileges to Sumela and presented gifts as well. Thus the two candlesticks in the monastery are known to have been presented by Sultan Selim I (1512-1521), a decree issued by Sultan Mehmet II, conqueror of Trabzon, acknowledging that the rights of the monastery existed. It is known that other sultans such as Bayazit II, Selim II, Murat III, Ibrahim, Mehmet IV, Suleiman, the Magnificent, Mustafa and Ahmet III also issued decrees for the monastery.
During the 18th century, many parts of the monastery were restored and the walls were decorated with frescoes. In the 19th century, the monastery took on an impressive appearance with the addition of larger buildings. This was the monastery’s present form and it attracted many foreign travellers who mentioned it in their writings. Among them were Ghikas (1755), Stephane (1764, Hypsilantes (1775), and G. Palgrave (1826-1888). The monastery was seized by the Russians during the occupation of Trabzon between 1916 and 1918, and then, in 1923, it was abandoned.
The main sections of the Sumela Monastery are the rock church, a few chapels, kitchens, student rooms, a guesthouse, library and a sacred spring. This collection of buildings was built over a very large area. The large aqueduct at the entrance, which supplied water to the monastery, is constructed against the side of the cliff. The aqueduct has many arches and is now mostly restored.
A long and narrow stairway leads to the entrance of the monastery. Next to the entrance are guardrooms. Another stairway leads to the inner courtyard. On the left in front of the cave, which forms the main part of the monastery and which was turned into a church, are different facilities. The library is on the right side. Sixty-six of the mainly 17th and 18th century manuscripts had been previously catalogued and are now displayed in Ankara Museum. A further 1000 tetraevangeliums (the four gospels) adorned with miniatures and dating from Byzantine times are kept in the Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) Museum in Istanbul. Also there are about 150 printed books. Of the valuables from the treasury of the church is a silver cross (stavrotek) presented by Manuel III, prince of Trabzon, a hand-written manuscript and a large number of documents which are now in the Museum of Byzantine Works in Athens. An icon of the monastery known as “Lady of the roses” is now in the National Gallery in Dublin. The silver candlesticks presented by Sultan Selim were stolen in 1877. Another icon is in a private collection in Oxford. A silver medallion on which the holy trinity is depicted and another ornate medallion dated 1438 together with an altar cloth (epitaphios) dated 1438 are in the Benaki Museum in Athens.
The large building with a balcony on the front part of the cliff was used as the monk cells and guestrooms. The building dates to 1860.
The influence of Turkish art can be seen in the design of the cupboards, niches and fireplaces in the rooms of the buildings surrounding the courtyard. Thus, these details in the rooms gave these small interior spaces a positively Turkish house air. The inner and outer walls of the rock church and the adjacent chapel are decorated with frescoes. Frescoes of the time of Alexios III can be seen on the inner wall of the rock church facing the courtyard. The frescoes of the chapel are dated to the early 18th century and they were painted at four levels in four different periods. The frescoes of the bottom band are better than the others in terms of colour and quality. The change in subject matter discernible in each layer is interesting. Inscriptions stating that these works were done in 1710 and 1732 were discovered. But frescoes dating from the times of Alexios III had been found on the wall of the rock church facing the courtyard. There, on each side of Alexios III were his sons, Manuel III and Andronikos. Unfortunately, no traces of these portraits remain today. Outside, parts of a huge apocalypse scene, of which only upper bands remain, can be seen on the rock face, and underneath its flaking plaster other scenes were found. A dragon and two mounted saints (Georgios and Demetrios) are seen on the wall of a small chapel. It was found that there are three other layers of paintings beneath this layer. Thus, on top of the bottom layer, the figure of an emperor wearing a diadem is depicted, and yet another figure of the same kind is depicted on top of that figure, and on top of this is a Transfiguration scene – Metamorphosis, the change of the look of Jesus Christ on Tabor mountain. In this case, in the older parts of the monastery where the plaster has not flaked off completely there should be valuable paintings in the lower layers. With its pointed arches, the fountain which accumulates the sacred water is Turkish in character. 100 metre north of the monastery are chapels which are also carved into mountains having walls with frescoes. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been carrying out a major restoration project at Sumela since 1998, and so far all the damaged walls have been cleaned, restored and reinforced. The main building was covered with a roof and the frescoes in the main rock church have been strengthened. And finally, the path leading to the monastery was widened without giving any harm to the natural texture.
THE HEALING WATERS OF THE SUMELA (VIRGIN MARY) MONASTERY
This short note was taken from an article by Sabahattin Eyuboglu titled “Anadoluda Halk Hekimligi” (Folk Medicine in Anatolia), appeared in the journal Tipta Yenilikler, No:6, February 1961, pp. 76-77.
“We visited the Sumela (Meryem Ana, which literally means Mother Mary) monastery and its environs. This monastery resembles an eagle’s nest that has been half hewn into a steep cliff face above a pine forest at the foot of the Zigana Mountains. It has only one narrow entrance. Its known history goes back to the 16th century. Most of the frescoes on its crumbled walls date from the 17th and 18th centuries. It seems that a number of repairs and additions have been made to its gallant architecture. Into a sacred pool in the centre of the monastery, large drops of water drip at varying intervals from thirty or forty meters above. For centuries, these drops of water have been the hope to the hopeless sufferers of incurable diseases, and had made the monastery rich. In the old days, both Christians and Muslims came here from all parts of the country to get well and offered impressive gifts and sacrifices. During our five or six hours’ stay in the monastery, twenty or so sick persons arrived. Among them was a father with his physically distorted son from Izmit. The sick people undressed and stood waiting for the healing drops to fall on them. Because the drops did not fall in the same place, a cure of seven, eleven or twenty drops of water could last quite a short or long time. Frequent and regular drops were considered as favourable. A drop suddenly falling on a sick person should have been an exciting experience. The colourful and awesome scenery visible when climbing up and down the monastery, the sound of countless waterfalls in the valley and the fragrance of the forest should have enhanced the imposing power of the monastery. It is important that, in many parts of Anatolia Virgin Mary is regarded as a source of health by Muslims, too. Other older goddesses of Anatolia might have been replaced by Virgin Mary.”
Atatürk’s pavillion
The building which is located on the slopes of Soguksu and which is surrounded by pine trees was constructed by Konstantin Kabayanidis in 1890 as a summer resort. It reflects the Western and Renaissance influences and contains big and striking European symbols. The outside of the building is stone and the inside is in Baghdadi technique. The floors are covered with tiles of the time reflecting the same influence. The central heating and plumbing systems were progressive for the time.
When Atatürk visited Trabzon for the first time on 15 September 1924, he stayed in the mansion which is now redesigned as Trabzon Museum. During a short sightseeing tour to Soguksu, he saw the pavilion and liked it very much. During his second visit to Trabzon on 27 November 1930, he was hosted in Turkish Nationalists Club building. Atatürk seemed to adore the pavilion. The people of Trabzon noticed this. In 1930, the building was registered by the Trabzon City Administrative Committee. The people of Trabzon bought it from the Ministry of Finance on 2 May 1931 and on 18 May 1931 they gave it to Atatürk as a present. After Atatürk’s death in 1938, the pavilion was inherited by his sister Makbule Boysan. On 6 August 1942, the pavilion was bought by the Trabzon Municipality again for TL 10.000 to be redesigned as a museum. It was reopened as a museum on 6 April 1943, and it is known as the “Atatürk’s pavillion” since then.
In June 1937, Atatürk visited Trabzon for a third time and stayed in this building for two nights. On the night of June 11, he took his historical decision to bequeath all of his property to the Turkish Nation that he loved very much. That night he prepared a list of his properties in the Soguksu pavilion and sent it to the Prime Minister. He said: “ The wealth of a man should be in his spiritual personality. Property and wealth make a heavy burden on me. By donating all these to my nation, I feel relieved.” For an unknown reason, Atatürk did not put this pavilion in Soguksu on his list of properties. Various opinions have been put forward, but there is no documentation to support any of them.
THE FOUNDATION OF SULEIMAN THE MAGNIFICIENT
Sultan Suleiman was born in Trabzon in 1495 and left the city in 1509. During his lifetime, he never lost his emotional ties with Trabzon because. His grandmother was from Trabzon and an educational and religious complex called Hatuniye Kulliye had been dedicated to her. When she died, Sultan Suleiman was at the age of nine, and he left the city at the age 15.
His reign of 46 years (1520-1566) marked the most successful period of the Ottoman Empire. It also marked the rising period of the Ottoman Empire. The army and the navy became the most modern and the strongest at the time. The imperial territories extended to three continents. His codes of law on finance and military earned him the nickname “Kanuni” which means “law maker”. His book Kanunname (the book of law) consists of three sections and is very detailed. It describes all aspects of the armed forces, from the posts and responsibilities of the army members to the clothing.
Apart from the military domain, his period is also marked by many works in fine arts and architecture. The imperial territories were adorned with examples of fine arts and architecture. He prioritised sciences and fine arts that produced many artists. The leading artists of Turkish painting were the offspring of this period. He is well known for his activities of development and construction of public facilities as well as his administration. Istanbul being the most important priority, he gave importance to the development of the cities. At the time, Istanbul turned into the most developed city in the world. The complete works that describe Suleiman’s life and the important events of his era are called “Suleymanname” (the book of Suleiman).
During his 46 years of reign he extended the empire with impressive victories, and on 5 August 1566 he made his thirteenth and last campaign to Zigetvar, Hungary. When he started this campaign at the age of 73, he was old and ill. Suleiman, the Magnificent, the 10th Ottoman sultan, died on the last day of the successful 34-day siege on 6 September 1566. The Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmet pasha kept his death as a secret for 6 weeks until they arrived back in Istanbul. His internal organs were buried in Hungary, but his body was brought to the capital to be buried in his tomb. With his reign of 46 years, with his victories and books of law, and with the stability that he created within the empire, he is one of the most important figures in the history of the world.
A statue of Suleiman, the Magnificent was erected in a friendly park in Zigetvar, Hungary on 6 September 1994 as the symbol of friendship between Turkey and Hungary. The same statue was erected also in Trabzon on 7 June 1995.
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