THE EARLY EKKLESIA OF ANCIENT
The Byzantine Monastery of Saint Nicholas in
Kıyıköy, Eastern Thrace.
The Monastery of Saint Nicholas is one of the oldest rock-cut monasteries in the world, located in the town of Kıyıköy in the Kırklareli Province of present-day Turkey.
It dates back to the 6th century, during the reign of Justinian I (527-565 AD), and is one of the finest examples of rock-cut monasteries. Although a wooden room was added in front in the 19th century, no remains of this part have survived to this day.
On the ground floor of the monastery, which was carved into the rocks, is the church, and in the basement directly below is a miraculous spring. There are also cells that were used for the rest and use of the monks.
Today's Kıyıköy (Kıyıköy), the former and ancient Greek city of Media, is a small town in the Vizy region of the Saranda Ekklesia (Kırklareli) Province, in present-day northwestern Turkey. It is located in Eastern Thrace, on the coast of the Black Sea. It is 36 km from the center of the region and 95 km from the provincial center. The settlement became a municipality in 1987. The population of Kıyıköy is 2,077 according to the 2010 Turkish National Census.