Bulgaria and Rila Monestary

Sofia

So Jesse and I arrived in Sofia around 2am. The bus there was not so bad. Our first border crossing went well. Few questions and the guards were generally humble. We walked through Sofia for quite sometime. We couldn't find our road for the hostel and my feet were going numb. If you remember, I burned my really good pair of socks in Goreme. We pasted by old shops, squares, a small river, prostitutes (who whistle at you!), and thousands of cabs. Jesse and I walked around aimlessly until about 5am. Finally, after telling Jesse that I would pay for the cab, we get one. The cabby tells us that he knows the place. We enter the cab and he takes up about a block away and we are now standing in front of our hostel. I would stay for the next 6 days. A little history about Sofia. Sofia with a population of 1.3 million people, sits ensconce under Mount Vitosha; which you can see from certain parts of the city. The well-preserved town walls, which are visible when you walk underground, date back before the 7th century BC, when the Thracians constituted their city around a mineral spring, which people still drink out of today. Sofia has three mountain passes that lead to the city, which have been key roads since days of yore, affixing the Adriatic Sea and Central Europe with the Black and Aegean Seas. The city was destroyed in the 447 invasion of the Huns. It was rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (Remember him from Hagia Sophia in Istanbul) and for a while called Triaditsa or Sredets by the Slavic tribes. During the reign of Justinian it prospered, a great fortress with walls was built whose remnants can still be seen today. After a number of futile sieges, the city fell in 1018, but once again was established into the restored Bulgarian Empire at the time of Tsar Ivan Asen I. From the 12th to the 14th century, Sofia was a burgeoning center of trade and crafts. Again, in 1382, Sofia was seized by the Ottoman Empire in the course of the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars after a extended siege. After this event the city started to construct more Ottoman style structures, such as Mosques and bathhouses. In 1878 Russian forces took Sofia again in the Russo-Turkish War, and became the capital of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria in 1879, which became the Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1908. During WW2, Sofia was bombed by Allied aircraft, in late 1943 and early 1944. As a consequence of the invasion of the Soviets, Bulgaria's government, which was allied with Germany, was overthrown. These issues ended in 1946 with the creating of the People Republic. The architecture of Sofia is a mix of Socialist apartment blocks and quite a large amount of ancient Roman, Byzantine and medieval Bulgarian buildings are preserved in the center of the city. Many architects were involved in the construction of more modern buildings in Sofia, including places of learning. With the rise of Communism in Bulgaria came the typical Stalinequse construction of apartment blocks, large public squares, and particular designs for learning centers. This is also still present today, and can be found anywhere in former Communist states. The city is known for the Ivan Vazov National Theatre, National Opera and Ballet, National Art Gallery, National Gallery of Foreign Art, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Boyana Church, and SS. Cryil and Methodius National Library houses the largest national collection of books and documents and is Bulgaria's oldest cultural institute. Bulgaria is now a member of the EU and WTO.
The first issue occurred the next morning. I was trying to get money out of an ATM, which was not a problem in Turkey. I kept getting denied. Jesse fronted me some money and I was fine. Two days later out of money again. Again, I go to an ATM. This time it eats my card. We try calling the bank. They tell us that they will not give me my card back. I wait til the next day and again attempt to get it back from the bank. Here is a similar dialogue of what was said between me and the teller:
Me: "Can I get my card back?"
Teller: "No."
Me: "Why not?"
Teller: "Hold on, let me ask."
Me: "Good idea."
Long story short...got the card back and have been suffering from this issue as of now. Lots of Western Unions as of late. This has been somewhat of a problem. I just got to budget a bit.

Rila Monastery

Its an incredibly beautiful place. A long trip up into the mountains, around them, through valleys, snow everywhere. You follow these things, until you hit a a wall and a door-that's it-the monastery. Rila Monastery is found in a deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876-946 AD). Who was said to travel into the mountains to be left alone and pray all the day threw. Well, it seems he was followed or discovered, as well as his hiding place, and thereafter turned into a monastery. Over the years large donations were made by almost every Czar of the Second Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman Conquest, making the monastery a cultural and spiritual center of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its acme from the 12th to the 14th century. The monastery was rebuilt where it lies today by a man named Hreylu Dragovola during the 14th century. However, the Ottomans, as well as numerous raids overtime had destroyed the monastery by the middle of the 15th century. With donations by the Russian Orthodox Church, Rila was re-erected by the end of the 15th century. Three brothers from the region of Kystudenil, who moved Ivan of Rila's relics into the complex, were the main constructors of the monastery. After the complex acted as a cache of Bulgarian language and culture in the ages of foreign rule. During the time of the Bulgarian National Revival(18th-19th century), it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy Bulgarians from around the whole country.

As we entered the monastery, there was a level of silence, I have yet to hear since I started on my journey. The snow fell with a bit of strength. I started to look around and become familiar with my surroundings, when a Japanese woman started shouting about a picture. I had not noticed her, until then. She was screaming "OK! Take my picture here!" I would take it, she would run back and tell me no, then we would repeat this process. Now I am not a camera man and I don't what kind of shot she wanted, but I apparently was not doing this "picture" justice, so finally she just looked at it and said "OK," in a sad kind of way and went off. Back in my zone I started to shoot away. The church was amazing. Every square inch was hand painted eons ago, by St. Ivans novices. Pictures of all the important religious figures were present, as well as St. Ivan and other big players of the monastery's past. The inside of the church, was really impressive. The same style as the outside, painted in every place, but with some graves inside, writing in Cyrillic so I cant tell who they were, as well as some splashes of gold, and a lot of candles. They even sold Rila Monastery bottled water inside! Got to make money wherever you can, maybe that's why there were 3 souvenir shops inside and a dozen outside? We stayed for about two hours, not because we wanted to, but because the driver of the bus disappeared. When the driver came back we left. I slept the whole way back. When we arrived back in Sofia. I had made a decision to book it. That night Jesse and I, on our way back to the hostel, were smoking ciggarettes. I saw a cop car coming up the street. I even joked, "be cool, the cops kid." Well, the cop car stopped right in front of us. A cop exited and a conversation started, that went something like this...mind was a bit clouded:

Officer: asaldòlskdoapsodkùàèèò! (I don't know Bulgarian?)

Jesse and I: We don't know what your saying, we are American.

O: òpmnddilsiepeè! Bulgarian!

Jesse: OK

Me: Whatever you say

O: Where is the heroin, the marijuana, the cocaine?

Me: Not here.

J: Yeah, we don't have anything like that.

O: Were is your Passports?

Me: In the room

Jesse: (While handing him his Tennessee driver license) Here.

O: (Incredibly confused) OK. (Hands it back). Have a good day (and some other bs in there).

The officer leaves in the car, walk home laughing.

I was tired of it there. So after a night of bowling and drinking heavily, I told Jesse I was going. He felt rushed and possible pushed a bit (even though there was not a rush and he was not being pushed), so he didn't come with me. Haven't seen em since. I woke the next morning, packed and got out of there. Had a splitting headache that started, that morning. I had it for the next three days to come.

Also I am just curious if anyone is reading this thing anymore. I am quite behind with these, but am slowly typing them up. I would like to know. I am going to write them anyway. I just want to know. Thanks J