PANAGIA SUMELA SANCTUARY

Surrounding a Greek Orthodox church built in 1951 on the side of Mount Vermion, which reaches 2,065 m above sea level, this shrine (Ιερό Προσκύνημα Παναγίας Σουμελά/Iero Proskynima Panagias Sumela) is an important pilgrimage site. It houses a precious icon of the Virgin attributed to St. Luke from the prestigious Byzantine monastery of Sumela, nestled in a cliff in Turkey's Altındere region, from which the Greek monks were expelled in 1923.