June 00 - Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Rila monastery, Bulgaria
The famous Rila monastery is situated in the deep valley of the Rilska or Rila river in the Rila mtn.s at an elevation of 1,147 m.s above sea level. Founded by (and named after) the hermit monk John (or Ivan) of Rila (876-946) in the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter I (927-968), this monastery has been important most of the time since. Large donations were made to it by almost every tsar of the 2nd Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman conquest. Plundered and destroyed (or much of it) in raids by the Turks in the mid-15th cent, the monastery was rebuilt by 3 brothers from Dupnica with donations from the Sultana Mara Branković, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Rossikon monastery of Mount Athos. The sultan signed a deed in 1466 permitting a compact of mutual assistance with St. Pantheleimon in Mt. Athos, and Ivan of Rila's relics were relocated from Tarnovo to the new complex in 1469. It remained a centre or 'repository' of Bulgarian culture, spirituality, and national consciousness throughout almost 500 yr.s of Ottoman rule. Much of the monastery was destroyed by fire in 1833 and was reconstructed and fortified /b/ 1834 and 1862 (in the period of 'the National Revival') under the direction of architect Alexi Rilets and with the assistance of 1000s of wealthy donors from across Bulgaria. It also became a refuge for such Bulgarian revolutionaries as Vassil Levski, Gotse Delchev, Peyo Yavorov, et al. Today it's the largest monastery in the country and houses @ 60 monks.
- Re-erected on its current site by Hrelyu, a feudal lord, in the early 14th cent., the oldest buildings in the complex include the Tower of Hrelja (1334-'35) and the small 'Chapel of St. John the Theologian' handy to it (1343).
- This 5-domed principal church was built in 1834-37 and it's a beauty, with 3 altars, 2 side chapels, a gold-plated iconostasis (the creation of which took 5 years to complete by 4 craftsmen), a bunch of valuable icons inside dating from the 14th to the 19th cent.s, and frescoes and murals inside and on the exterior walls of the arcade (completed in 1846) which are the work of many masters from Bansko, Samokov and Razlog, incl. the famous brothers Dimitar and Zahari Zograph. Zahari looms large in Bulgaria. Frescos in the painted churches at Troyan and Bachkovo, the 2 largest Bulgarian monasteries after Rila, are his work as well. His murals are bright and colourful, although I thought the scenes of demons defecating into the mouths of Turkish women with funnels and pulling their hair, etc. were a tad unchristian. www.flickr.com/photos/pbrockhoefer/313367997/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXeTvAmZweU At least they give an idea of how emotional the Revival period was, when the Turks were brutally suppressing the independence movement.
- "Porticos in the courtyard have Mamluk influence in the striped paint job and in the domes, which became more popular in the Ottoman Empire following the Turkish conquest of Egypt."
- "The 4-storey residential portion of the complex consists of 300 chambers [or rooms], 4 chapels, an abbot's room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large vessels, [huge metal kettles; I took photos of the interesting geometrical interior of its chimney]), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old prints, and a donor's room." (Wikipedia)
- The monastery contains a museum (which I toured) and which is most famous for 'Rafail's Cross', a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81×43 cm.s). It was carved or whittled by Rafail, a monk, using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. He worked on the cross for at least 12 years before it was completed in 1802 and shortly before he lost his sight. (Wikipedia)
- I stayed here for at least 2 nights in a room or cell on an upper level of the tiers surrounding the monastery and in a cabin in the Rila mtn.s for one in /b/ while I was on a hike. The views from the balconies on the 3rd or 4th floor, near the door to my room, of this church and the tower of Hrelja in the courtyard below, the tiers of the surrounding cells, and of the mountainous backdrop, were worth the trip.
- Either that first day or early the next I hiked @ 5 km.s up to and climbed into the small, stone cave and home of St. John (Ivan) of Rila ('the Miracle Worker', ca. 876-946), patron saint of Bulgaria, which was a hermitage for the man for 12 years and until his passing. I toured the stone 'Church of the Dormition of St. John' (built no later than 1385, renovated in 1820) which is handy to the cave and contains the saint's grave in a corner of the narthex (which I don't recall). And I saw the rock by which he prayed daily (with nice views) and the spring next to the cave's entrance where there's a little shrine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxUw2EE8G-o www.youtube.com/watch?v=14whvoGMNQs
- It was here at Rila that I met and befriended a couple who I'd run into again at a monastery near Ohrid and who would visit me in Toronto 3 yr.s later and who I would chauffeur up to and @ Manitoulin island (I took this shot and the next 2 in this stream in their company: flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/3283393360/in/dateposted-p... ), Ewan from Northern England and his gf Lotje from Belgium. Lotje was a student of languages who could speak 8, and who was ambitiously learning Hungarian, the most difficult European lg. to learn they say, possibly after Basque. Hungarians conjugate their nouns.
- I met a young Australian tourist and we made arrangements to hike up into the mountains above the monastery (I with my tent, etc., he must've had one too) and set out on a trail into the forest. See the description for the next photo.
June 00 - Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, Rila monastery, Bulgaria
The famous Rila monastery is situated in the deep valley of the Rilska or Rila river in the Rila mtn.s at an elevation of 1,147 m.s above sea level. Founded by (and named after) the hermit monk John (or Ivan) of Rila (876-946) in the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Peter I (927-968), this monastery has been important most of the time since. Large donations were made to it by almost every tsar of the 2nd Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman conquest. Plundered and destroyed (or much of it) in raids by the Turks in the mid-15th cent, the monastery was rebuilt by 3 brothers from Dupnica with donations from the Sultana Mara Branković, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Rossikon monastery of Mount Athos. The sultan signed a deed in 1466 permitting a compact of mutual assistance with St. Pantheleimon in Mt. Athos, and Ivan of Rila's relics were relocated from Tarnovo to the new complex in 1469. It remained a centre or 'repository' of Bulgarian culture, spirituality, and national consciousness throughout almost 500 yr.s of Ottoman rule. Much of the monastery was destroyed by fire in 1833 and was reconstructed and fortified /b/ 1834 and 1862 (in the period of 'the National Revival') under the direction of architect Alexi Rilets and with the assistance of 1000s of wealthy donors from across Bulgaria. It also became a refuge for such Bulgarian revolutionaries as Vassil Levski, Gotse Delchev, Peyo Yavorov, et al. Today it's the largest monastery in the country and houses @ 60 monks.
- Re-erected on its current site by Hrelyu, a feudal lord, in the early 14th cent., the oldest buildings in the complex include the Tower of Hrelja (1334-'35) and the small 'Chapel of St. John the Theologian' handy to it (1343).
- This 5-domed principal church was built in 1834-37 and it's a beauty, with 3 altars, 2 side chapels, a gold-plated iconostasis (the creation of which took 5 years to complete by 4 craftsmen), a bunch of valuable icons inside dating from the 14th to the 19th cent.s, and frescoes and murals inside and on the exterior walls of the arcade (completed in 1846) which are the work of many masters from Bansko, Samokov and Razlog, incl. the famous brothers Dimitar and Zahari Zograph. Zahari looms large in Bulgaria. Frescos in the painted churches at Troyan and Bachkovo, the 2 largest Bulgarian monasteries after Rila, are his work as well. His murals are bright and colourful, although I thought the scenes of demons defecating into the mouths of Turkish women with funnels and pulling their hair, etc. were a tad unchristian. www.flickr.com/photos/pbrockhoefer/313367997/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXeTvAmZweU At least they give an idea of how emotional the Revival period was, when the Turks were brutally suppressing the independence movement.
- "Porticos in the courtyard have Mamluk influence in the striped paint job and in the domes, which became more popular in the Ottoman Empire following the Turkish conquest of Egypt."
- "The 4-storey residential portion of the complex consists of 300 chambers [or rooms], 4 chapels, an abbot's room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large vessels, [huge metal kettles; I took photos of the interesting geometrical interior of its chimney]), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old prints, and a donor's room." (Wikipedia)
- The monastery contains a museum (which I toured) and which is most famous for 'Rafail's Cross', a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81×43 cm.s). It was carved or whittled by Rafail, a monk, using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. He worked on the cross for at least 12 years before it was completed in 1802 and shortly before he lost his sight. (Wikipedia)
- I stayed here for at least 2 nights in a room or cell on an upper level of the tiers surrounding the monastery and in a cabin in the Rila mtn.s for one in /b/ while I was on a hike. The views from the balconies on the 3rd or 4th floor, near the door to my room, of this church and the tower of Hrelja in the courtyard below, the tiers of the surrounding cells, and of the mountainous backdrop, were worth the trip.
- Either that first day or early the next I hiked @ 5 km.s up to and climbed into the small, stone cave and home of St. John (Ivan) of Rila ('the Miracle Worker', ca. 876-946), patron saint of Bulgaria, which was a hermitage for the man for 12 years and until his passing. I toured the stone 'Church of the Dormition of St. John' (built no later than 1385, renovated in 1820) which is handy to the cave and contains the saint's grave in a corner of the narthex (which I don't recall). And I saw the rock by which he prayed daily (with nice views) and the spring next to the cave's entrance where there's a little shrine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxUw2EE8G-o www.youtube.com/watch?v=14whvoGMNQs
- It was here at Rila that I met and befriended a couple who I'd run into again at a monastery near Ohrid and who would visit me in Toronto 3 yr.s later and who I would chauffeur up to and @ Manitoulin island (I took this shot and the next 2 in this stream in their company: flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/3283393360/in/dateposted-p... ), Ewan from Northern England and his gf Lotje from Belgium. Lotje was a student of languages who could speak 8, and who was ambitiously learning Hungarian, the most difficult European lg. to learn they say, possibly after Basque. Hungarians conjugate their nouns.
- I met a young Australian tourist and we made arrangements to hike up into the mountains above the monastery (I with my tent, etc., he must've had one too) and set out on a trail into the forest. See the description for the next photo.