Rila Monastery

Last week we enjoyed a great visit from our friend Katie, who is currently in a graduate program in England.  We enjoyed showing her around Sofia.  Sara and Katie were able to visit Boyana Church and hike a bit around Vitosha, see a performance of Hamlet in Bulgarian, and also had quite an adventure exploring Sofia’s nightlife on Halloween.  Katie graciously offered to babysit one night, so Sara and I had a nice dinner at the great Italian restaurant just a block from our apartment.

In the courtyard of the monastery.

The highlight for me, though, was our trip last Saturday to the Monastery of St. Ivan of Rila organized by the Fulbright Commission, which graciously invited my family and Katie along.  Rila is in the mountains about two hours south of Sofia by bus.  We arrived there a bit before noon and had about two hours at the monastery.  The monastery is nestled in a scenic valley that was enhanced by brilliant late fall color and nearby mountains. It was really quite spectacular, and it is easy to understand why it is both a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Bulgaria’s top tourist destinations. 

The monastery was founded in the 10^th Century by students of St. Ivan of Rila, who lived nearby as a hermit.  The oldest surviving buildings date to the 14^th Century.  The monastery was a hub of Bulgarian religion and culture, and helped preserve this during the 500 years that Bulgaria was ruled by the Ottomans.  It was closed, however, for a period under communist rule.  Today, only nine Bulgarian Orthodox monks live in the sprawling complex.

Fresco from the chapel.

After visiting the monastery we stopped at a roadside hotel and restaurant for a late lunch.  I had a delicious Balkan trout, which was appropriate given our location alongside a mountain stream.  Our daughter, Norah, did well on this outing and seemed excited to be around so many people speaking English.  It takes a bit of effort to get out of Sofia and see the rest of Bulgaria (which is beautiful), so it was nice to have this organized and easy opportunity to do so.