On Saturday, May 25, the Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, Nadir Alpaslan, celebrates the inauguration of the Sumela Monastery in Trebizond after four years of restoration work.
Tourists will be able to visit the Monastery, but not the church for the time being.
Turkish press reports say that at first, only the area until the first court, where the restoration work has been completed, will be open for public visits.
It is also noted that the restoration works around the main part of the monastery have also been completed, and the 600-ton rock opposite the entrance, which risked falling, has also been stabilized.
Later, the rocks above the church of the Monastery will be improved and cleaned and right afterwards the restoration of the church and the yard will begin.
In 2010, for the first time in 88 years, the Turkish authorities allowed to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to operate Sumela until 2015 when the restoration work of the Monastery began.