Rila Monastery, Rila, Bulgaria
Date Visited: June 5, 2015
Time Spent: 3 hours
High in the hills of the Balkans, lies Rila Monastery. The UNESCO World Heritage site was founded in the 10th century by St John of Rila and played an important role in medieval Bulgaria. The monastery unfortunately burned down in the 19th century, so the buildings you see today are dated from the mid -1800s. BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE THEM ANY LESS BEAUTIFUL #Phoenix
The monastery is a little bit of a drive from Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, which makes it a great day trip if you want to get out of the grungy city and grab some fresh air. The #RoadTrip views are pretty great too!
You are officially in Eastern Europe
The monastery is so Orthodox, it hurts! It's a welcoming change of view if you've been overly-saturated with Catholic and Protestant architecture. And while you'll probably come for the architecture and that fresh mountain air, you'll stay for the intricate and colourful paintings covering the walls and ceilings of the church itself.
This explorer never read the bible so much of the symbolism was lost on me, but it didn't stop me from taking a million photos.
The monastery itself does not have any informational signage around so make sure you do your readings first to help bring some context to the site. While you can enter the church, as well as roam the expansive courtyard, the surrounding buildings and their oh-so-tempting levels will just beg you to climb them #ForbiddenLove. Religious or not, you'll still be taken in by this site. Maybe you'll even get inspired to climb the mountain that rises above. Reach for the sky!!
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