These are the two words that, in my humble opinion, describe in the best way what I feel when thinking and remembering of this holy spiritual place.
The place I am writing about today is called "St. Dimitar" monastery or "Sveti Dimitar" and according the inscription above its door it has been build in year 1240!
If you search online for it, as of today, you will not find it on any online map. You will definitely find other Orthodox Christian establishments: churches, chapels or monasteries, but not this one. You could find few short articles about it though. Written by other travelers and explorers, as I like to consider myself too :)
How do I know this place?
Well, this series of pictures is from my second visit there. The first time ever, I was invited to photograph a wedding. This was my first wedding to photograph and probably my last. Not because I didn't like it but exactly the opposite! I believe this was probably the most original and alternative weeding I've ever been to. It was between a friend and a photo-model of mine, a young Bulgarian actress and a guy from Spain, enchanted by her personality and artistism. :) My friend, the girl, has parents who are from the nearby village in Western Bulgaria, called Zabel. A small and silent village, with crystal clear air and strange people. The green yard of the monastery was the place to handle the marriage ceremony and it felt more like a theatrical play than a church wedding ceremony. Amazing experience but a topic for a separate story, probably.
So there is a small forest road, Northbound from the village. When I say "road" don't imagine tarmac or asphalt. It is a dirt road. It takes about a half an hour by foot or ten minutes with a car but the car has to be a SUV. Also, if it has been raining in the last two days or earlier, just don't go that way as you'll probably need something heavier to help you get out of the mud!
Or as we like to say, "The bigger the SUV, the bigger the tractor that you'll need to call to help you out!" :)
You may easily miss the place as this is the only info sign pointing you towards it:
...and this is how the green yard in from looks like from the road. So the church (obviously the only building left from the monastery) is well hidden from the "road":
However you may notice these strange cut trunks, covered by roof tiles:
As "Dimitar" is common Bulgarian name, I am pretty sure on the day when the saint is honored, there are still people going to this church to pay their respect and have few prayers.
Then those trunks are used as base for planks that turn into long tables, of course, to out those large vessels full of boiled mutton. Or other food, I can't tell for sure.
Here's how the yard with the church looks like:
Turning my head in the opposite direction and you'll see my humble and dirty SUV, as there were few muddy puddles along the road :)
Now if you look carefully at the right-hand side of the pic above, that is a field of nettle ;) Early spring nettle makes such a delicious soup and is one of the greatest sources of iron and vitamins. ;) Just a side note for the food junkies, I am one as well :P
Wait, what?
The door was locked!
I remembered from my friends from the first visit that the church is always open. That made me start looking for the key and soon we found it, hidden or I should probably say put at a place where the rain and wind won't catch it. Well, I won't say exactly where :) But if you go there, I am pretty sure you'll find it :)
We stepped in with eyes wide open...
It was obvious people still care about this place, with all the icons and accessories around.
I could feel the positive energy and vibes of the place. So we spent a lot of time inside, exploring and enjoying all the beautiful items and the untouched interior.
We found few candles, lit one and left some money, as it is a custom here.
There were so many cobwebs inside. The door, the windows, almost everywhere but still, it didn't feel abandoned, more like the spiders were guarding and protecting the ancient church!
We waited until the candle burns out completely, locked the door as it was time to go back to the civilization. For good or bad...
:)
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