Our Unexpected Encounters in Bulgaria's Sacred Spaces: Rila Monastery and Boyana Church

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

If you enjoyed this, check out our visit to Varna! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKvakKKbrJ2pfqs

[@reddragonfly8028]

Hi, Sean, about the lamb - it was obviously planned for курбан (it was to be slaughtered as a sacrifice for health or in memory of someone.) Your guide should have told you, it's a very typical thing. Btw If you want to explore other interesting sites in Bulgaria I would highly recommend you to visit Veliko Tarnovo ( and Tsarevets), the old town of Nessebar and the Belogradtchik Fortress.

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Thanks for the explanation! I guess I just didn’t know what to search for online, so I’m glad you explained it. I’m actually no longer in Bulgaria, but I have a lot of footage from my month there that I still have to edit. I really wanted to go to Nessebar one weekend, but all the buses from Sofia were full, so I ended up going to Varna instead. I’ll plan ahead better to go to Nessebar next time I’m in Bulgaria. And yes, the Belogradtchik Fortress was awesome! Soooo beautiful. I’ll have a video about that soon. Veliko Tarnovo also looks pretty cool! I’d love to see more Bulgarian cities someday. The only ones I saw were Sofia and Varna and Plovdiv.

[@reddragonfly8028]

@@SeanGranseeTravel It's great that you've been to Belogradtchik! Looking forward to the video (and your other videos too)☺️ Have a great time, wherever you are now.

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

@@reddragonfly8028 Thanks! Just made it to Prague earlier this week 🇨🇿

[@MaDFroG88]

@@SeanGranseeTravelPrague will blow you away!

[@andreidelchev3326]

@@SeanGranseeTravel You shoud visit Melnik its a few hours drive from sofia plus Rupite wich are like 20 km from Melnik plus rojen and rojenski Manastry verry beatifull at summer to see ... this thestinations are like 50 km near eachother and have many more in this marchurute , biggest town near is Sandansky verry beatifull town alot of nature and unque park .

[@mitkomitev7]

Hey, man, to put some more context for the places you visited - the Boyana Church is special because it depicts on the icons images of people in pre-Rennaisance style. To put it other way - they are one of the best paintings that survived from that period in Europe. Even though the painters are unknown, it is considered masterpiece of medieval art. About the Rila Monastery - the Hreliova tower is looking like a castle, because it is exactly from that ages when the monastery looked different and it is the oldest building there. Also there is little, but very cool museum inside the monastery where you can see Medieval artifacts and Orthodox Christian art. Must see is the wooden Rafail's cross which is 200 yo masterpiece of wood carving. It is so detailed and done only with needle until the monk who did it got blind. Also there is a cave chapel not far from the monastery in which lived the saint who first came there more than 1000 years ago. And plenty of places in the woods nearby for picnics and just enjoying the nature around. Your vids about Bulgaria so far are great! Best of luck for your new adventures!

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Thanks so much for the kind words and insightful comment! Now you're making me want to go back to Rila Monastery. I also want to see the 7 Lakes, so maybe I'll be back someday 🙂

[@xGordzulax]

Go check out the 7 Rila Lakes. Going all the way up to the last one is quite a hike, but its doable, you don't need any prior training. But even if you make it halfway it's still an amazing experience with incredible views . Also certainly visit Plovdiv.

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

I would really love to visit the 7 Rila Lakes next time I’m in Bulgaria. I almost booked a tour that also goes to the lakes, but the weather forecast said it was supposed to rain, so I decided against it since I didn’t know how much the beauty would depend on having good weather. Then the weather ended up being great, so I really wish I had gone. I did go to Plovdiv, though. That was a wonderful experience. I actually have a friend in Chicago who grew up in Plovdiv and was there while we were in Bulgaria, so she showed us around. I’ll make a video about Plovdiv soon.

[@EvgueniTzvetanovDrives4Fun]

Dude, you rock! You need a proper gimbal and my advice for your travels and videos -- prudent to do some homework before you take a tour to a place -- makes you look prepared and a bit of a pro. But you nail it every time, because you know what to accent on. For a Bulgarian living 25 years in US and visiting there, I also discovered a lot of things have changed, but with tourists and nomads living temp in Bulgaria the culture somehow enriches the crowd and lot. Kudos and keep the great work!

[@GreatCityAttractions]

Nice video Sean - some wonderful sights in a great country.

[@MaDFroG88]

Great that you made this trip! I haven’t been there in years!

[@mini983]

Hello Sean, the lamb might have to do with the memorial service for St. Ivan of Rila, 18 Aug and 19 Aug. The lamb soup would be given to the worshippers of the saint after the service.

[@NazarovVv]

"The tower looks like like it belongs in a castle" - You are actually closer to the truth than you think. The entire monastery is actually build as a fortress with side towers and arrow slits. The tower was build in the 1350s which and it's actually called a donjon (from french) tower the closest word in English would be Keep. It's a defensive structure suitable for living has 5 floors and a well in the basement. It is not connected to the walls or any other building and It's designed as the last line of defense when the attackers breach the walls. The fact that the Rila Monastery was burned down 3 times and the tower was never actually taken and it managed to preserve all of the holy relic is a testament to the efficiency of the design.

[@alexanderdoychinov61]

Sean, if you keep these videos rolling you'll become the most famous and loveable American:))

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Hahahaha thank you ☺️

[@hristopipo3457]

you must visit Tryavna. It is a small town in central Bulgaria, 2.3 hours by car from Sofia. If you liked the Rila Monastery, you will be pleasantly surprised.

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Thanks for the suggestion! I’d really love to return to Bulgaria someday, so I’ll keep that in mind.

[@Imbahi]

You have to see the town of Koprivshtitsa , Plovdiv, Rodope mountains, Ruse, Nesebar , the seven Rila lakes , Prohodna cave ,well there are many more places but thats a good start :)

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Thanks for the list! That gives me plenty of places to go next time I'm in Bulgaria :) We did end up going to Plovdiv, and we loved it. We wanted to go to Nesebar, but all the busses were booked so we ended up going to Varna instead. We also skipped the seven Rila lakes because it looked like it was going to rain, but the weather ended up being great and I wish we had gone. I'd love to come back to Bulgaria someday and see everything you mentioned!

[@DMazda]

In addition to the monastery museum and the cave chapel others have mentioned, you can also go inside the tower and climb all the way up (or at least you could some years ago). You could also go underground and explore the monastery’s storage rooms and cellars, it’s a proper labyrinth down there and surprisingly big.

[@martinicc67]

I am actually surprised your tour guide didn't explain stuff at all. Usually there is someone that does it.

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

We even asked him what the lamb was all about, and he had no idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@iztokstudio]

stray dogs and cats are taken care of sometimes better than indoor pets

[@odalv316]

Bachkovski Monastery is also good, Asens fortress, Shipka, Buzdloja, Belograchik fortress, Hisaraya, Starosel tomb, Hisarya, Varna, Burgas, Rila lakes ,

[@babiyarnazarismaily6207]

Actually boyana church has paintings of the bulgarian ruler you showed (1:56-2:03)it and some scolars say that the actual renesance start in the balkans and it have logic cause back then the eatern roman empire was the centre of culture and everything,it happened 40 years before they used to think ,before it happened in italy and the main sign is the pictures of real people instead of random faces as they did paint before

[@davidkim8088]

Wow that took an unexpected turn 😂

[@katefayzi8076]

Hi , you should visit Ravadinovo Castle near Sozopol

[@ketigeorgieva622]

There is no ritual, no Bulgarian nor Christian that is typical with the abuse of animals. Even if the lamb is to be slaughtered to be eaten for a big holy day, it does not require such an abuse over the animal. If someone sees such, he/she should report it to the local authorities... although they do very little about it or nothing at all.

[@sashkad9246]

Did you just say you went there, saw that altair with all the handmade woodcarving and you were not in awe? How? Also a lamb is usually an animal that gets slauthered and eaten on holidays, how is it strange that it was screaming?

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

I’m not sure! One of those things that slipped my mind I guess. I may have been in awe at the moment, but it’s not something that stuck in my memory. I knew about lamb sacrifices from long ago, but I didn’t realize that still happens. And I didn’t realize there would be a public display of it. Not saying that’s a bad thing (I eat meat, and occasionally eat lamb), it’s just something that caught me off guard as I was admiring the monastery.

[@andreidelchev3326]

@@SeanGranseeTravel Yea for American for shure its strange ,Balkanian countries are more rough on that side ,in me father time almost every one know how to kill chicken to skin some animals and do hard labor becose every summer children go to theyer fother or mother villiges most ppl go from small villige to the town and there they can see how theyr grand perents live and survive almost every house have animals that are breed for killing to make something for winter to eat . Its not cruel thing to do its tradition and surival in small towns dont have alot of shops and sometimes they dont get good for weeks in winter time becose snow prevents cars to go there , Plus old peapole live on small pension about (250-350$) wich is almost nothing and they need to have some chickens goats cows to have like eggs milk white cheese and meat plus if they get more cows or goat that they cant take care or eat they sell for money . Its a culture and understanding of nature and how life was simple in small town ,this culture now is dying sadly, less and less ppl in small towns .

[@iztokstudio]

WE MUST INVESTIGATE THIS LAMB CONSPIRACY

[@futurekron]

That lamb story is horrifying! I'm amazed with such a well-educated group of young people in BG that no one has at least attempted to stop such a ridiculous and barbaric practice! Shame on BG for that. (And, I don't want to hear the "but it's just part of the culture" lame-@ss crap).

[@dss1733]

do u not eat meat? it was just for a dish. how is it any more barbaric than eating any other kind of meat. do u think the animals prepared for food anywhere else are happy about being cooked 😆 no its just normal. u cant expect an entire country to become vegan

[@futurekron]

@@dss1733 That's very simple-minded. BG's lack of empathy and respect for animals shows in it's stray dog/cat problem, and of course, the abject poverty with no social safety nets for its elderly. We eat meat here in the USA, but it is considered "animal abuse" to treat them horribly before slaughter. Even good muslims would share this attitude.

[@OvaBiz]

if you read the Bible it clearly says animals have no souls - so nothing to worry about :D

[@SeanGranseeTravel]

Ha, we actually learned this while traveling around with a dog. Our dog isn't allowed in churches for that same reason.

[@stoyanp4138]

@@SeanGranseeTravel Yes, it may seem cruel or bizarre from a modern point of view but it's just the old way of life. Besides, if you really think about how the fate of that lamb compares to the life of an animal on an industrial meat farm, it's not at all clear which one is worse. Even though they don't treat them as pets and don't consider them to have souls, people in rural areas often take better care of their animals than industrial megafarms. It's just that people from big cities in the West are used to being completely shielded from anything that is cruel or unpleasant. Especially when it's about their food. Ignorance is bliss. On the other hand, I wasn't there, so it may have been worse than I imagine. There are some aspects of the "old way" which are genuinely unnecessarily cruel.