August 21, 2020

A Video Tour of Some Byzantine and Greek Sites of Pontus, Platana and Trebizond


This documentary was filmed on August 15, 2020, which was the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, and begins at the first Divine Liturgy at Panagia Soumela in five years, having been recently reopened again after restoration work. After showing us the restored monastery, it then moves on to sites in Platana, such as the 19th century Greek elementary school and the newly-restored 14th century Church of the Archangels. 2,000 Greeks lived here a little over a hundred years ago, but today it has a population of about 110,000 Turks. In Trebizond they visit the old Church of Hagia Sophia, which today functions as a mosque, as well as many other important sites of Byzantine and Greek history in the region (Villa of Kapayiannidis, Panagia Chrysokephalos - Fatih Buyuk Camii, Tomb of Maria from Livera, Saint Eugenios - Yeni Cuma Camii, Mimarlar odası, Kanuni Anadolu Lisesi, Boztepe, Soğuksu).