Panagia Sumela Monastery is a Christian monastery located 50 km southeast of the current city of Trabzon in Turkey. It is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in the world, having been founded in the 4th century. The ascent to the monastery is very difficult, since the monastery is located at an altitude of 1200 m on the slopes of Mount Mela, in the area occupied by the Turkish national park Altindere (Altindere Milli Parki). The monastery, probably founded in 375-395 by the monk Barnabas, was badly damaged in the 6th century after the invasions of the Arabs, but was rebuilt by St.→