ROZHEN MONASTERY, MELNIK PYRAMIDS AND SOME GOOD WINE, BULGARIA
It has been a long time since my last visit here. The monastery was preserved during the Ottoman rule and today keeps the history of centuries back. At the times it was built (after XIII century) there was no road reaching the monastery. Instead, one could go up there climbing steep paths from the town of Melnik.
Despite I had not come here for a long time, I felt like I was here just yesterday. Nothing has changed and everything is still so beautiful and peaceful. The huge fig trees behind the church are still there and you can feel their nice scent. The vine is also there, spreading above the whole complex.
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In the Rozhen monastery you will find no food for the stomach but plenty of food for the soul. One of the most impressive things is the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary which is believed to cure the sick. It is a copy of another miraculous icon found in the sea near Mount Athos more than 1000 years ago. Thousands of people visit the monastery every year to pray in front of the icon.
No matter whether you are a believer or not, the Rozhen monastery is a strong spiritual place. We left calm but energized, ready for our next adventure.
The town of Melnik and the beautiful view of the Melnik Pyramids
It is hard to describe the Melnik Pyramids to someone who has never seen them. Melnik Is the smallest town in Bulgaria and it is famous mostly with the beautiful nature around it and the good wines being produced in this area. The Melnik Pyramids are unique natural phenomenon – sand pyramids formed by the soil erosion. They are up to 100 high and they are still changing.
A well-maintained path going from Rozhen to Melnik offers a unique experience, if you have the time and power to walk it. It begins near the Rozhen Monastery, from an old dirt road. You cannot miss it because there are many signs. It is going by steep slopes, just above the pyramids, offering stunning views. This is one of the many times when being there is far more beautiful than seeing it on photos.
We did not walk the whole path which is about 3 km long. We just wanted to be up there on sunset, to take some beautiful photos, stay for a while with our thoughts and say goodbye to the going day.
In October there is little sign on autumn in this area. There is still plenty of greenery and only the strong wind reminded us that the summer is over. Just before the sun goes down behind the peaks – this is my favorite time there. The colorful sky and the quietness fill me with calmness.
The sun is now gone and our walk is almost over. We head back to the Rozhen Monastery and then to our hotel in the nearby village of Rozhen.
The small village of Rozhen bears its name from the nearby monastery which was once called “Rozhna”. A hundred of years ago its population was around 200. Today it has only around 12 inhabitants and most of the houses are hotels. We decided to stay in Dinchova kashta. It proved to be a wonderful place, fully deserving its top rating. Large and comfortable rooms, good coffee, home-made breakfast and wonderful fig jam are among the things that impressed us the most. We had a nice dinner in the cozy tavern and enjoyed a good wine produced in the owner’s winery.
Near Rozhen village is situated one of my favourite attractions – a tunnel leading to the nearby Lubovishte village. It was dug by the local people without any machinery at all. For years they had been asking the authorities to dig a tunnel through the sand pyramid separating the two villages.
However, their requests were left unanswered and the people decided to dig it by themselves. It took them almost a year to complete it without any machinery.
We first heard of this tunnel a few years ago on our way to Skoko waterfall, near Kashina village. It is relatively close to Rozhen but it is not easily accessible by any car.
The southwesternmost area of Bulgaria is a popular place not only for nature and wine lovers but for religious tourism too. Besides the Rozhen monastery, there are two highly-visited places. One of them is the Rupite area, where the famous Bulgarian clairvoyant Vanga used to live until her death in 1996. She is highly respected not only in Bulgaria but abroad too, most notably in Russia. Before Vanga, another clairvoyant was living nearby – Prepodobna Stoyna. She used to live in the St. Georgi church in the village of Zlatolist in early 20 th century. Local people say that she was not only capable of seeing the future, but she could heal as well.
Today the church where Prepodobna Stoyna lived is a popular attraction among believers. Thousands of people come here yearly to pray on her grave and see the room where she used to live. The small room is located on the second floor of the church.
The 1295-year old sycamore in the yard of the church
On the first floor of the church there is a stone that is believed to have healing powers.
Google Maps link to the church.
The area around Melnik is well-known for its numerous wineries producing nice local wines. We got lost on the road between Zlatolist and Melnik and we accidentally found a huge vat-looking building, surrounded by a large stone fence. It appeared to be the Orbelus winery (Google Maps link) – one of the few wineries in Bulgaria that are bio-certified, producing wines from organic grapes. We had a very interesting free tour around, learning how wine is being produced there. We are not very familiar with wine production so it was very interesting and attractive for us.
We ended up buying a couple of bottles and later enjoyed them at home. They proved really good and I am happy that we got lost this way.
The area is beautiful during all seasons but I would not recommend you to go there in the summer because it gets really hot there. In the autumn it is very beautiful, winter is also a good choice because it is not too cold. Wine is tasting better in cold seasons, too.
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Източник: andrey-andreev
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