Trabzon formerly Trebizond is in the Eastern Karadeniz region of Turkey. A major trade centre since times immemorial, and visited by Marco Polo among many others, Trabzon is today one of the major cities of Turkey's northeastern coast. In medieval times, city served as the capital of Empire of Trebizond , which was ruled by Komnenos family βwhich also provided several emperors to the Byzantine throne in Constantinople.
The longest surviving rump Byzantine state, Trabzon was captured by Ottoman Turks in , almost a decade after the fall of Constantinople.
The clerk speaks English very well and provides you with a wealth of information about Trabzon and its surroundings. Before doing anything in Trabzon, go to the tourist office. Important information: The monastery is closed due to some several restoration and field works should be open again in It is possible to go there and to have a look from outside what is still worth , but you cannot enter the monastery.
A few tours start with minibuses from Trabzon in the morning. If you want to go on your own by public transportation might be more expensive than joining a tour!
They will depart around 11am and 2pm. The whole trip Trabzon to Trabzon costs 25 TL and lasts for about 4 hours. It was built in the fourth century, just before the Roman Empire split into east and west, by two Athenian priests, Barnabas and Sophronius, who, according to legend, found a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave. The monastery's location in this geopolitically tumultuous corner of the globe naturally saw times of trouble and fell into ruin numerous times throughout its history, with its most thriving times falling under Byzantine and Ottoman rule.
