Monastery of the Virgin Mary Archaeological Site

The Monastery of the Virgin Mary sits in a large hollow in the middle of a sheer rock face, about 11 kilometres east of Şebinkarahisar in Giresun province, in the Kayadibi quarter of Sarıyer village. It is the second largest rock-carved monastery after Sumela near Trabzon, and its setting and architecture recall that more famous neighbour.

A flight of 26 steps leads to a low, rounded-arch entrance. The monastery has four storeys. The lower three hold 32 rooms serving as halls, kitchens and other everyday spaces, while the fourth level is a church carved into the solid rock. In front, a water cistern stands on the left and a cut-stone fountain on the right.

Built in the medieval period, the complex was badly damaged by a great fire and later restored in the nineteenth century. A further restoration was approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2014, after which it was declared an archaeological site attached to the local museum and opened to visitors.