Vazelon (St. John) Monastery of Maçka Trebizond

Abstract

Fascination, spiritual landmark and seduction: these are the terms that describe how Byzantium was perceived in general, and mainly Trabzon, in the history of the old continent. The Trabzon’ sovereigns displayed in a brilliant manner the features that characterized the Byzantine Empire. They knew to preserve the greatness, the luxury, the pump at the court that showed their capacity to create a unique standard of living. Through their diplomatic ability and love for the Orthodoxy, the Byzantine emperors tried to draw the neighbours’ attention to Trabzon and its surroundings. There are three monasteries in a relatively small area near Trabzon city of Turkey: Sumela, Hagia Sophia and Vazelon. At this paper we worked on one of them, the smallest but the strongest once upon a time, that was called Vazelon Monastery.

Keywords

• Vazelon Monastery
• Maçka
• monks
• frescoes
• Silkroad