Monastery Valley, located in the south of Mustafapaşa settlement, is an interesting place with its churches and monasteries as well as natural formations. The valley is located in a rocky region formed by numerous conical rock blocks. St. Nicholas Monastery is the most important building in the valley.
During the time of the Greeks, a silkworm breeding business was established opposite the St. Nicholas Monastery, with the initiative of the prominent families of the village. It is rumored that the business established under the name of the monastery sent threads produced from silkworms to Istanbul. All the lands around the monastery, such as vineyards, gardens and fields, belonged to the monastery. It is also stated that the monastery has horses and some farm animals, as well as a bakery and some other real estate in the village. The Nikolaos association, founded by the prominent people of the village, was also located here. The amount of support to be given to necessary areas, especially schools and the poor, is determined by the association. It is also stated that the Greeks in the village have a tradition of leaving some of their property to the St. Nicholas Monastery before they die.
The monastery also had a library with a rich archive. In the 1920s, the library contained translations of European works and classical works.
There is St. Stefanos Church on the right at the entrance of the valley. Continuing the road, you reach the monastery dedicated to St. Nicholas, which is the most important structure of the valley. Another important religious building in the valley is the St. Prodromos Monastery Church, known as Sinasos Monastery until recent times. It is a building complex built by carving out the entire conical rock mass, located approximately 50-60 meters south of the rock where the St. Nicholas Monastery was carved. There is the Church of St. Barbara on the conical rock opposite the rock where the St. Prodromos Monastery Church was carved. St. John Theologos (Evangelist John) Church is a structure carved into a conical rock in the southeast of the rock mass where the Nicholas Monastery was carved.
