This blog post was published under the 2015 to 2024 Conservative government

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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

25th August 2015

Greek rites – in eastern Turkey

sumela
The chanting is mesmerising.  Priests in richly-decorated gowns perform the liturgy before a crowd crammed onto a rock shelf, hundreds of meters above the valley floor.  TV cameras transmit the ceremony live.
 
Since 2010, the Greek Orthodox divine liturgy has been taking place every 15 August at the Sumela Monastery, high in the Pontic mountains (Kuzey Anadolu Dağları) in the far east of Turkey.  The ceremony is a welcome demonstration of religious tolerance and diversity.
 
I’ve blogged before about the ancient wonders which seem to cram every corner of Turkey.  Even in this crowded field, the Sumela Monastery is something special.  Founded in 386 AD, it clings to a cliff high in the mountains, reached by a steep path.  Fallen into ruins and restored repeatedly over the centuries, it flourished under the Empire of Trebizond (1204-1461); was seized by Russia from 1916-18; and was abandoned after the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. 
 bartholomeos
I was delighted to have the opportunity to attend the annual celebration of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, led by Patriarch Bartholomew, at the Monastery this year.  Participants were fulsome in their thanks to the Turkish authorities for supporting the event. 
 
Today, the monastery has become a tourist attraction; and is undergoing restoration.  Only some parts of the complex are open to visitors.  But what is visible, including ancient frescoes, a rock church and some vertiginous views, offers a fascinating insight into an ancient – and, perhaps, continuing – way of life. 
 
Follow Leigh Turner on Twitter at @leighturnerFCO

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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