Historic rock-carved Virgin Mary Monastery awaits tourists in Giresun

After Sümela, Turkey’s second largest monastery built out of a mountain, the Virgin Mary Monastery in the Black Sea province of Giresun is awaiting local and foreign tourists. 

The monastery, which is situated on a hill in the Kayadibi village of Giresun’s Şebinkarahisar district, was used by Orthodox Greeks in the past until the 1940s. It is a four-storey and 32-room monastery and can be reached through a 20-minute walk from Kayadibi’s center. 

The monastery is estimated to have served since the 2nd century A.D. 

Giresun Culture and Tourism Director Kemal Gürgenci said the structure was of great importance in terms of faith tourism. 

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