St. Nicholas Monastery, located in the south of Mustafapaşa, very close to the center, is located in the Monastery Valley, which can be reached from the road following Dere Street. St. Nicholas Monastery, the most important religious building in the Monastery Valley, is a building complex dedicated to St. Nicholas, to whom the village people attach great importance.
Although there are different saints with the same name, Nicholas is the most revered saint in the Orthodox faith, whose cult began to spread after the 9th century, whose memorial day is December 6, and who was the bishop of Myra. Saint Nicholas, one of the most revered saints not only of the Greeks of Sinasos but also of the entire Christian world, over time turned into a figure known in the Western world under the name “Santa Klaus”.
It consists of four separate rooms, some of which are made of masonry and some of which are carved into the rock, adjacent to each other at the lower level. Although it is not known exactly when the monastery was built, it is thought that its current form was built in the second quarter of the 19th century. In addition, based on the history of an icon donated here, it is known that the history of the monastery goes back much further and has existed since the 18th century at the latest.
The courtyard where the monastery buildings are located is entered through a decorated door with two interlocking round arches located in the northwest. The building has three floors. There are a total of four churches in the areas to the east of the Monastery, primarily the church dedicated to St. Nicholas. The building complex containing the monastery churches is arranged irregularly side by side in the north-south direction. Through the door that provides access to these places, you can pass to the church, which is thought to be the main church in the center. It is thought that the closed Greek cross planned and domed church located in the south of this place is the oldest structure of this building complex and even dates back to the Middle Ages. This view is supported by the stylistic features of the murals. To the west of the monastery, there are various spaces including a courtyard, patient cells, fountains and burial places.
St. Nicholas Monastery had a very important place not only in the religious life but also in the social life of the people of Sinasos in the 19th century. It was believed that the water flowing from the fountain in the courtyard of the church was healing. Turks, as well as Greeks, would go to the fountain and drink its healing waters to get rid of their illnesses.
