Tag: history

My sister Fiona and I crossed into Bulgaria from Romania this morning. Although the roads were a bit rougher, the rural setting reminded me of where I had grown up in Alberta, Canada. The only difference was that the yellow fields were sunflowers rather than canola fields.

We travelled to Veliko Taranovo where we are staying our first night. Just north of the city we stopped to see the Monastery of the Transfiguration. It was an older structure, in some disrepair, but represented almost 800 years of history of a monastery at this site. The setting was on a side of a large hill overlooking the cliffs as we entered a valley in which Veliko Taranova was constructed.

Veliko Taranova is a very vertical town due to the geography. Windy cobblestone streets curl around the sides of steep hills in a river valley where houses are built on levels up the sides. It makes for very picturesque images with the old and modern intertwined around many corners.

Our first stop after dropping off things at the hotel was to walk to the Tsarevets Fortress. An imposing hill structure across a bridge at one end of the town. In the 12th century it housed over 1000 people until it was sacked by Turkish invaders. The floor level structures have been excavated, but the walls remain as a testament to the history of this fortress. At the pinnacle of the hill on which the fortress is built is a renovated cathedral. It is visually drew my eyes as I circled the fortress streets and made my way up the hill. I was surprised to see a modern take on the history of the cathedral and the religious iconography on the interior walls as I entered the structure. It was beautiful but different from any other Orthodox Church I have visited.

After leaving the fortress we wandered the streets where many stores catered to locals and tourists. It felt like a vibrant town with lots on the go. We ate some traditional Bulgarian food at Cafe Risch. The stew I had was delicious along with the tomato and cumber salad. We had a beautiful view over an art gallery in the valley where a celebration of some kind was in full flight. It was part of the vista of the town that was enjoyable to look out as we ate. I have definitely enjoyed this visit to Veliko Taranova.