Rila Monastery - 119 km south of Sofia
119 km south of Rila - 3 hours by bus - or 2 hours by car (depending on how many stops along the way to take photos!) is Bulgaria's largest and most famous monastery.Founded in 927 by Ivan Rilksi as a colony of hermits, it was moved 3km to its present location. but after being destroyed by fire in 1833 it was rebuilt in an even grander scale as a superb monument of the Bulgarian medieval and National REvival period architecture and painting. Though one Bulgaria guidebook published in Bulgaria says that there are still murals here from the 14th century.The whole complex is certainly strikingly artistic and colourful - from the 4 levels of balconies and arcades with its 300 rooms, to the church with its exterior covered in murals and the interior heavily adorned with much iconostasis - even I was quite amazed - but no photos were allowed inside the church.There apparently is accommmodation...
