Panagia Sumela: Record number of visitors, and new “openings” planned for Vazelon and Peristereotas

Tourist traffic at the Monastery of Panagia Sumela in Trabzon is recording a record turnout, as the number of visitors reached 520,000 from 121 countries by September 15, according to official figures.

Based on estimates, total visitor numbers at the historic monument are expected to exceed 600,000 by the end of the year.

Prompted by this increased traffic, the monastery complex was visited by a delegation from the ruling AKP party, consisting of Adil Karaismailoğlu, chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Committee on Public Works, Urban Planning, Transport and Tourism and MP for Trabzon, MP Yılmaz Büyükaydın, and the mayor of Maçka, Koray Koçan.

In his statements, Mr. Karaismailoğlu described Sumela as one of the most important cultural monuments in the region, and announced the start of maintenance and restoration work at the also-historic Monasteries of Vazelon and Agios Georgios Peristereotas. He noted that these two monasteries hold historical value of a similar level, and that opening them to the public is expected to further boost tourist interest in the wider Sumela valley.