In this post I will talk about a family walk to the Turtle Monastery, in Bulgaria. The monastery is one of the oldest in Bulgaria (~ 1373), located in a very beautiful place. With the destruction of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom by the Turks, the monastery was destroyed several times, but the people always restored it. P.S. Sorry for the mistakes! I tried.
Entrance of the monastery.
Ossuary (crypt?). Here, in a small cave, the bones of those who fell in the fight against the Turks in 1876 are kept. There is a legend that the monastery got its name (Cherepyshki monastery means monastery of skulls) because of the bones and skulls of fallen soldiers in ancient times - an epic battle took place nearby and many people were killed.
The stairs are very steep.
Another photo of the crypt.
View of the monastery from the middle of the stairs.
Crypt with bones. I wanted to add an 18+ warning, but I couldn’t find how.
Bell tower
Bell tower
Church
People come here to pray. In many monasteries I was forbidden to take pictures inside the temple or they demanded that I pay for photography (and that wasn’t cheap!)
The patriarch of Bulgarian literature, Ivan Vazov, once lived in this room. In his memory, the decoration has been preserved since then (about 150 years ago)
Icon in the corner. I kept cursing myself because I left the external flash in the car - I wasn’t sure if they would let me take pictures, so I didn’t take it with me. I didn't take a tripod either...
Church - view from the entrance.
