Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

BULGARIA 619

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

176 km (109 miles) SE of Sofia.

Tel (359) 3327 277. @ from

Plovdiv. # 7am–9pm daily.

& 8 compulsory for

Refectory. = ®

. Iconostasis
The Church of Sveta
Bogoroditsa also
contains a highly
ornate 17th-century
gilt iconostasis, which
gleams in the soft light
of hundreds of
flickering candles.
. Refectory
A solid stone table and
wooden benches stretch the
length of the 17th-century
refectory. The vaulted ceiling
is covered with frescoes by
pupils of Zahari Zograf.

Church of Sveta

Bogoroditsa

This 17th-century church

is richly decorated with

frescoes. Themes include

the Devil addressing Christ

from the mouth of a

monster, and Death

shadowing an angel.

Procession of the miraculous Icon

of the Virgin Mary

PROCESSION OF THE

MIRACULOUS ICON

The refectory wall on the

left of the courtyard bears

the largest panoramic wall

painting in Bulgaria. Painted

by Alexi Atanasov in 1846, it

depicts the annual procession

of the Icon of the Virgin on

15 August, the day of the

Assumption of the Virgin.

After Orthodox Easter, the

icon is carried to Ayazmoto.

Main

entrance

Ayazmoto

Ayazmoto

The nearby hills shelter

three chapels near a loca-

lity known as Ayazmoto.

The Icon of the Virgin was

once hidden here from

the Ottomans.

Devotees gather here
to kiss the silver-plated
Icon of the Virgin,
painted in 1310.