Sofia - Rila Monastery - Boyana Church - Sofia tour

Sofia - Rila Monastery - Boyana Church - Sofia tour

On October 11th, which turned out to be a very beautiful and warm day, we took a small group of Japanese tourists over to two landmarks of Bulgaria's culture and Christian faith: Rila Monastery and Boyana Church, who also appear on UNESCO’s world heritage list.

[Rila Monastery entrance]

[Rila Monastery yard]

The Rila Monastery has a very rich history (you should check out their webpage), but it should be remembered most for the fact that it played a huge role in preserving Christianity in Bulgaria during the 5 century period of Turkish domination, also in serving as a hub of knowledge and education in the beginning of the Bulgarian renaissance.

After a delicious lunch (beans soup and fried fish meals, prepared in the typical for the region way), we headed back to Sofia to visit Boyana church.

[Boyana church]

[Boyana church yard]

What Boyana church is remarkable for are the 3 layers of its building – each layer of which was built at a different period – and 2 layers of frescoes. We were not allowed to take pictures of the church’s interior, but it was amazing to see Bulgaria’s cultural and spiritual development in the medieval period, just from the noticeable differences in the two fresco layers.