Turkey is working on a new cable car project that will give tourists a unique way to enjoy the historic and enchanting Sümela Monastery, clinging precariously to a rocky cliff at an altitude of 1,200 meters in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.
Sümela, a Greek Orthodox monastic complex dedicated to the Virgin Mary, draws a large number of tourists every year from Turkey and abroad.
Trabzon Mayor Murat Zorluoğlu said last week that he was confident the cable car project would greatly enhance tourists' experience, stating that: "Visitors will get a beautiful aerial view of the monastery, and the trip up to the site will also be much shorter."
The project foresees building three stations for the 2,500-meter cable car line.
Dating back to 385 A.D., the monastery is a site of historical and cultural significance and one of Turkey's major tourist attractions. It was included in UNESCO's temporary list of World Heritage sites in 2000. It recently underwent a four-year restoration which concluded in May 2019.
Sümela was reopened for religious use in August 2010, following an 88-year hiatus.
