Sadly, Sumela monastery is closed for most of 2016 while restoration work takes place but head to the northeast district in 2017, and you will be presented with the excellent view of a 14th-century monastery clinging to the side of a steep cliff face.
The walk uphill to the main entrance is strenuous but once you arrive, the humble life of a monk in that era becomes glaringly apparent as you stroll through the bedrooms, communal areas and step inside the small church with its intricate and original ceiling frescoes. Built in that area, after a monk saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in a cave, the monastery faced rack and ruin at the turn of the 20th century but has bounced back to become one of Turkey’s most prized historical structures.