Rockfall risk probe launched to shield Sümela Monastery’s access route

TRABZON

Authorities have launched an engineering investigation around the dramatic cliffside complex Sümela Monastery in the Black Sea province of Trabzon after recent rockfall incidents raised safety concerns along its access route.

Despite extensive rock stabilization and restoration work carried out in recent years, authorities say a 300–400 meter stretch of the main access path had not previously undergone comprehensive risk assessment.

Using lidar aerial scans, experts will map the terrain, clear vegetation to expose unstable rock masses and identify high-risk zones.

The collected data will be used to build 3D models simulating potential rockfalls, including the trajectory, velocity and impact energy of falling rocks. Based on these findings, new stabilization measures will be implemented.

Professor Hakan Ersoy from Karadeniz Technical University noted that rockfall incidents have occurred in the area for decades, with several cases in the past causing injuries.

He emphasized that while many sections of the monastery surroundings have been reinforced over the last 10 years, the specific section of the access route had largely been overlooked.

“Even a minor oversight is unacceptable in a site that attracts global attention,” Ersoy said, referring to the monastery’s international significance.

Founded in the 4th century A.D., the monastery’s origins are tied to a widely known legend.

According to tradition, two Athenian monks each dreamed of the Virgin Mary on the same night. In their visions, she instructed them to travel to the remote mountains of the Black Sea region to find a sacred icon believed to have been painted by Saint Luke.

The monks independently arrived in Trabzon and discovered the icon in a cave on the mountainside. There, they established the first structure that would later evolve into the monastery complex known today.