Hello, dear friends! Today I had the great pleasure to visit the fourth largest monastery in Bulgaria. On our way from Plovdiv to Ruse, shortly after Veliko Tarnovo, we turned off the main road in the direction of Transfiguration Monastery "St. Transfiguration". We left the car at the beginning just after the fork and from there we walked to the holy monastery.
The trail is about a mile and a half long and winds beneath the high cliffs that were once said to be the bottom of a sea. According to other claims, these are what made up a long extinct volcano.
During our walk to the monastery we had the opportunity to enjoy the now yellowed and blackened leaves of the trees. The whole nature is preparing for winter sleep. Shortly before we reached the monastery we passed a huge piece of rock, which by all appearances had ended up in this place after breaking off from the highest parts of the rock mass.
It is a miracle that no people were hurt. This now lone boulder is about 5 meters high and anyone who is intent on reaching the monastery will pass by it.
Another 200 metres or so and the entrance to the monastery and the incredible beauty of the surrounding countryside opens up before us.
To the left of the car park is a signpost showing a map of the whole area and the eco-routes that lead from the monastery.
I couldn't miss the magnificent view that opened up in front of us as we turned our heads to the right. Just on the opposite hill is the Patriarchal Monastery "Holy Trinity". It is better known as the women's monastery, while Transfiguration Monastery "St. Transfiguration" is better known as the men's monastery. Nowadays, you can visit both no matter what gender you are.
I was extremely impressed by the fact that we also had a view of the city of Veliko Tarnovo and one of the most famous landmarks there, the Tsarevets Fortress. Please excuse me for the quality of the photo, but the distance was very long.
I couldn't wait to pass under the arch with the name of the monastery on it and see what a wonder this place hides. To the right of the entrance are the remains of what were once the monks' rooms. Now they are fenced off with tape so that no one can enter there.
After only 10 more steps the monastery itself appears in front of us. One will be fascinated by its beauty and the incredible energy it brings to its visitor. The place is so energetically charged that the soul is satiated.
The Holy Monastery is so brightly painted that one gazes back at every single mural.
The entrance of the monastery is blue in color, and immediately after it one enters the first of three rooms of which the monastery consists. A kind lady welcomed us and offered to show us around the monastery herself.
The monastery is three-aisled and anyone wishing can purchase candles from the kind lady meeting only one lev and pray for their own health and that of their loved ones.
In the next few shots I will show you the church from the inside. Luckily for us, it was under renovation and the wooden scaffolding of the craftsmen sat inside preventing any nice shots.
This church is so beautifully painted and I am so glad that money has been allocated to renovate it. Nowadays temples are forgotten by everyone and fundraising is mostly done with the help of donors.
We also left some money in aid of the holy monastery in the hope of helping its future renovation.
After touring the church from the inside we headed to the clock tower that stands just behind the church as its guardian.
You can climb it by means of wooden stairs, on the inside. It's definitely worth the climb up the stairs because at one wonderful moment, an even more majestic view unfolds before us. Directly below us is the male monastery and on the opposite side is the female one. There is hardly another angle from which to capture a better shot.
The setting sun added to the beauty of the photos. And even more interesting were the two huge bells that were located on the last platform of the clock tower.
We were also able to see the mechanism of the bells which was massive and reached all the way down to the lowest level of the clock tower.
One last photo from this wonderful place and we head to finish our tour. The sun was starting to not warm with the same strength and was hiding behind the high cliffs.
Once out of the clock tower we headed to the other side of the church. The one that until now appeared hidden to us.
I was very surprised when I saw this huge piece of rock and so close to the church. After I asked our tour guide where it came from - she laughed and said that every visitor asks her the same thing. It turned out that it had something to do with the so-called miracle of the monastery. In the early 1900's a large rock broke off and fell towards the monastery. Then the clock tower I showed you played an important role. It managed to split the falling rock in two and thus saved the monastery from destruction. Here the picture above shows one of the two pieces. I'll show you the other one in the next pictures.
To the side of this rock is a now abandoned building along with a fabulous well in front of it. It has a sign on it that shows the year of its creation - 1910.
This place is still alive through the objects I managed to capture with my camera.
We headed back to the church and this was the moment the kind lady brought to our attention - the wheel of life. Perhaps this is the thing the monastery is most famous for.
It is the work of the famous Bulgarian Zahari Zograf and the monks commissioned him to use it to represent the two versions that each person has in their life. The wheel is made of two circles that represent the two variants. The first circle shows what almost every one of us wants- wealth, a luxurious life. While the second circle- the inner circle shows the spiritual world of man. The one we should strive for, according to the monks.
Just then the woman advised me to go up to a certain place, from which she said the best pictures were taken. Here is the result:
From there we headed to the newly built part of the monastery. These are the monks' rooms. Of more interest here are the series of bells that are lined up one after the other. And their sounds are downright unbelievable.
Below them are parked a few colorful carts and a tractor. It makes me wonder how they managed to get it in there.
Then we met a new friend, Tom the cat. A very affectionate little animal who lets any visitor pet him.
And that's where the second part of the fallen stal is. It is also a reminder of how the monastery has managed to preserve itself with the Lord's help.
When I asked the woman if they were afraid something like this might happen again, her answer was very short and clear. They believe that God will protect them.
It was time for a few more pictures and saying goodbye to the woman. i just didn t want to leave this place. But we had a way to go.
Once we stepped out of the main entrance of the monastery I was impressed by a yellow building hiding behind the branches of the trees. We walked down a path and after a short time it appeared in front of us. It was no ordinary building - but a church.
Unfortunately for us, the church was closed and we couldn't see inside, but I was able to look around.
And now we had to go back to the car. Walking down the road I noticed a very unremarkable place on the side of the road.
Could it be the entrances of secret tunnels that are near the monastery? Where does this door lead and why was it left open? Questions I was unable to answer, but will definitely investigate on my next visit.
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Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1375.
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