Nadia was sponsored by Turkish Airlines to travel to Turkey, to the lesser-known beauty spots of the mountains by the Black Sea, to capture the landscapes and create artworks for a London event 'portraits of Türkiye’.
This painting depicts Sumela, a former Greek Orthodox monastery in the Pontic Mountains, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province. It was founded around AD 386 and access used to be through secret caves and tunnels in the mountain. It is a cultural and historical site in Altındere National Park. Nadia explored the monastery with a private guide, climbing through the many tiny prayer rooms and seeing first-hand the incredible views and sheer drops from the open windows.
“I imagined the monks through the years living here, reading and praying quietly in the silent mountains. How terribly freezing it must have been in the winter. How solitary and yet so close to nature.”
This monastery has been widely captured widely by photographers but rarely painted in winter. It was a challenge for Nadia to portray the misty scene, with alpine trees and rockface peeking through. A wonderful and memorable privilege for Nadia to experience.