Trabzon is located on the coast of the Black Sea and the Port is the gateway to Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan which were all located on the Silk Road and provided good access to European Markets. It is only ten minutes walk to the town. We chose to do a tour from the ship to Sumela Monastery which was a 45 km south of Trabzon. It was a Greek Orthodox Monastery built during the Byzantine era. It was abandoned in 1923 when the Turkish Republic was established. The monastery was constructed with a cavern in the middle of a steep slope. It is amazing to see the monastery in the distance up above you on the side of a steep hill. It contains frescos dating back to the 9th century and is set within a National Park with thick forests surrounding it. We enjoyed the trip to the countryside and the walk up to the monastery. While we were at Sumela a mist rolled in over the hills making it look very mystic. Check out the photos.
It is annoying going with a big group because you are always waiting for someone to go to the toilet or to get back to the meeting point.
After lunch on the ship we enjoyed a walk into town and a look at all the men sitting around on park benches chatting or drinking tea.