Trabzon (ancient Trapezus), city in north-eastern Turkey, on the Black
Sea. The capital of Trabzon Province, founded by Greeks from the Black Sea port
city of Sinope in the 8th century BC. Astride the historic trade route between
Iran and the European continent, Trabzon has always been a shipping centre with
an export trade. The city has many architectural landmarks from Byzantine times,
including the Church of the Virgin of the Golden Head and the Church of Saint
Eugenius—both now mosques—and the 13th-century Hagia Sophia, now used as a
museum.
The most appealing and breathtaking sightseeing area of Trabzon is the
Altindere National Park. 47 kms southeast of Macka, which provides a fascinating
setting for the 14th century Sumela Monastery of the Virgin Mary, perched
on the rock face 270 metres above the valley, at an altitude of 1300 metres.
Within the ruins of the monastery lie the remains of magnificent Byzantine
frescoes.
Made part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, it was
subsequently incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. The city attained wide
renown as an artistic, cultural, and commercial centre during the Middle Ages,
when it was the capital of the Trebizond Empire, established in 1204 by
Byzantine emperor ancestor, Alexios Comnenus. It flourished until 1461, when the
empire was conquered by the Ottoman Turkish sultan Muhammad II. In 1923
the city's sizable Greek population was deported.
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