|
|
||||
 Russian church, Sophia
Rila Monastery
Tobacco fields
Traditional farm
Village farm, Shiroka Laka
Troyan Monastery
|
Contents Low expectations or even no expectations can sometimes produce unexpected bonuses. It certainly did when visiting the mountain regions of Bulgaria. Discovering both hotel and food standards much higher than expected dispelled preconceived ideas. The cheese, of which we ate plenty, was good too but best of all were the very low prices, especially for gin & tonic! 'Good heavens' I thought, 'this looks more like a sanatorium than a hotel'. Hotel Club Vladaya, just outside Sophia, started life as a sanatorium but has now been converted into a basic but very pleasant and comfortable hotel. It enjoys a leafy setting in clean country air as befitting its original purpose. The staff, with only a smattering of English between them, tried hard to please and the mini-skirted waitresses were easy on the eye in the evenings but not especially compatible with breakfast! Sophia, home to about one tenth of the population, is more a monument to the Soviet era with its dilapidated austere architecture than a reflection of its earlier Byzantine history. There are places of interest but a day was easily enough for me to absorb the sights and sounds of the city. Public transport is cheap and efficient but once in the city, most worthwhile sites can be reached on foot. The blackened gold figure of St Sophia, towering high on her column, kept a watchful eye on the passing traffic and probably wished she could control it. Easily reached on foot is the oldest preserved historical monument the 4th century St George Rotunda, worth entering for the frescos alone. For still more impressive frescos and icons, head for the Alexander Nevski cathedral where the crypt houses the Museum of Medieval Bulgarian Art. Religious architecture embracing different faiths dominate the sights not to be missed here in Sophia. These include the gold domed Russian church, the Sophia Synagogue and the Banya Bashi Mosque. Good restaurants are never far away and there is plenty of shopping for those who find such pastime a pleasure. South of Sophia, lies Mount Vitosha, good for walking and wild flowers, but beyond lie the Rila Mountains. The route down passes through tobacco lands, an area where tobacco is the major crop. July is a good month to see the pickers out in the fields and the tobacco leaves being hung to dry. Rila mountains offer rugged alpine beauty, lakes and streams in abundance and wild flowers the equal of any European alpine region. The attraction which draws the biggest crowds is Bulgaria's most famous monastery, Rila Monastery. Graceful arches surrounding a flagged courtyard grab attention as you enter but much of the pleasure of this monastery lies in the detail. Richly coloured frescos decorate the cupolas beneath the archways depicting scenes from the Orthodox iconography. Inside, the intricately carved wooden iconostasis decorated in gold leaf is truly splendid. St John of Rila would surely be proud of the monastery he inspired. His original 9th century monastery was located a short distance west of this site. Bansko, a little further south, is a lively little town with good hotels and an excellent centre for exploring the nearby Pirin mountains and the Rhodope mountains to the east. It was the Rhodopes where we headed next and to Trigrad in the south of the region. After drinking in some spectacular scenery, particularly the Trigrad Gorge, it was down to the depths of the Devil's throat cave. Beware, there are 289 steps to reach the exit! Fortified houses can still be seen in some of the villages, like Shiroka Laka, surviving from the days when bandits marauded through these mountains. Mountain flowers are always a source of fascination but we pressed on to the second most important monastery, Bachkovo. Without reaching quite the same splendour as Rila, it is still regarded by UNESCO as a world monument the same as Rila. It was founded by two Georgians, servants of the Byzantine Empire, in 1083. The narrative frescos are quite special either slaying a dragon or telling the history of the monastery. Just as fascinating were the efforts of a priest with blow lamp trying to clean thick deposits of wax from the church's candle holder. The third and final range of mountains, the Balkan range lie due north. The route leads through Bulgaria's second city, Plovdiv, before crossing the plains and back into the mountains. Byzantine Plovdiv has appealing historical character, full of timber framed houses, narrow streets, mosques and bazaars. Crossing into the Balkan mountains leads to Oreshak and Bulgaria's third most important monastery, Troyan. I headed towards the church porch to study the frescos there. The Last Jugdement is depicted vividly enough with a macabre figure representing death pushing unfortunate people into the gaping hole of hell. On the other hand, another fresco shows St Peter leading the faithful into the walled garden of paradise. Bulgaria is a paradise of opportunity. Discover it now before tourism and the EU catapults into the modern world.
|
 Russian church, Sophia
Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery
Drying tobacco
Bachkova Monastery
Frescos at Troyan Monastery
|
||
