A little excursion....

Inside Saeva Dupka Cave

During our stay in Pravets, Lane and I took part in an excursion to the Troyan Monastery "Holy Mother's Assumption" and the Saeva Dupka Cave.  

Our morning started with a one hour bus ride, giving everyone a chance to work off the slight hangovers some had received during the previous night's festivities.  We arrived at the cave shortly after ten o'clock in the morning.  The cave is located near Brestnitsa and is one of nine developed caves in Bulgaria.  The name comes from two brothers, Syu and Seyu, who hid in the cave during Ottoman rule.  The cave consists of five main chambers, or galleries as they are called.  The third gallery, Harmana, is so large and has such great acoustics that choirs and chamber performers often give concerts.  The formations are intriguing.  Some of the formations look like strangely carved chandeliers coming out of the ceiling, while others look like huge squares strewn about the floor.  Excavations have found animal bones, earthenware pottery, and Roman coins.   

Frescoes inside the Troyan Monastery

Troyan Monastery is located between the villages of Troyan and Oreshaka and is the third largest monastery in Bulgaria.  Established in the 17th century by hermits, the monastery received visitors for prayer and advice.  This resulted in the building of a church on the site.  

The church "Holy Mother's Assumption" was built in 1835 by Konstantin from Peshtera, a master builder of his time.  It is built in the Bulgarian Renaissance style and features murals by Zahari Zograf, the most famous mural painters of the Revival Period.  The most famous frescoes are Doomsday and Wheel of Life.  From what I can tell, Zograf must have been rather unconventional.  While most of the frescoes he painted included traditional scenes, he also painted a fresco which includes all of the monks that lived in the monastery at the time.  He also left his self-portrait in the corner of a window in the north wall.   

The main church holds the relic of Troyan Monastery, the icon "the Three-Handed Holy Virgin," which was supposedly brought from Mount Athos.  The story behind the icon involves St. John Damascene.  While serving the Vizier to the Caliph, St. John was accused of treachery and had his hand cut off as punishment.   He prayed to the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) and his hand was miraculously restored.  The then had his hand cast and added to the icon, hence the three hands.

Lane in his natural habitat...because he's a cave man!