The Saint Michael Greek Orthodox Church is located up a hill in the Ortamahalle district of Akçaabat (Gr: Platana), a suburb situated about 15km west of Trabzon. The church was likely built in the 13–14th century and was restored and extended in 1846. Very close to the church was a well-constructed Greek school built in 1893 which is now a Turkish Primary school. The church was abandoned in 1923. In 1929, the church was still abandoned and in a very poor state.
The exterior of the church was built using light-coloured stone with various shades of pinkish-brown, green and yellow. In 1958, it was used as a residence. British geologist William John Hamilton visited the church in 1836 and stated:
"... within are some curious old paintings on the screen before the alter, behind which four small marble columns rest on a low wall of the same material, and support a rude soffit. On the outside the windows and niches, several of which are false, are in rich Byzantine taste, decorated with several rows of an elegant beading or border. The priest was summoning his congregation to church on my arrival; and as the Greeks are not allowed the use of bells, they supply the want of them by a piece of wood suspended from a tree [semantron], which is struck like a drum by the priest …"
Selina Ballance notes the church's rich exterior design and construction. The exterior she says is entirely different from anything else in the region. She says Georgian or Armenian influence must be responsible for its exterior but it's almost certain it was built by local masons. It was recently restored for use in social and cultural activities and is now known as the Ortamahalle Müzesi (Museum).
The Byzantine Churches of Trebizond. Author(s): Selina Ballance. Anatolian Studies, Vol. 10 (1960), pp. 141-175