Today, we rode south and east about two hours from Sofia to reach Rila Monastery. It was started 1,000 years ago and is quite impressive. They have a brief intro in six languages, including English.
There is also a lot of good info on their website: http://www.rilamonastery.pmg-blg.com/Home_page_en.htm
We had an English speaking guide who was very knowledgeable about the history and religious import of all we saw.
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| The monastery originally housed 300 monks. |
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| They retreated into this tower when they were attacked. |
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| Much of the artwork was done because the lay visitors to the cathedral were illiterate and this was a way to communicate religious information to them. |
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| The horizontal metal rods have been added in recent years, and are to help hold things together during earthquakes. |
After the tour, we drove back down out of the mountains and had a delightful lunch at a restaurant that was next to the river. We started with traditional Bulgarian white bean soup with mint. The entree was grilled river trout with potatoes, cukes, tomatoes and Bulgarian cole slaw. And dessert was a folded crepe with honey. I also had some Ethnos chardonnay, a local Bulgarian wine. The restaurant had a large variety of Bulgarian wines.
On the ride to and from Rila, our guide also told us about some other interesting things. Bulgaria is known as the Land of Roses - rosa damascena is grown in one of the mountain valleys and they distill rose oil from the blossoms. The oil sells for about 4,000 Euros (more than $5,000) dollars per kilogram. I bought a short booklet that gives the history and there is more info at http://www.bulgariaroseoil.com/about.
It is almost dinner time and we will be going out for dinner again tonight with all members of the team finally here (the last two from Tucson got in late Saturday night).
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