Day 4: Around Bulgaria in 14 days

Day 4 started with an early get-up and a great breakfast at TWIN HOUSE. When we arrived at the guest house they gave us a menu to choose something for breakfast. We liked “mekitsi” and they were ready for us at the table in the morning. And oh boy, they were delicious! Today our plan was to go to Melnik and Rupite. We wanted to visit them for a long time and finally it happened, so I was eager to leave.

At about 9 o’clock we left for Melnik. The road is very beautiful, in many places we stopped for photos and video.

And so – a stop here, a stop there and suddenly we saw the sign for Melnik.

Melnik is the smallest town in Bulgaria. It is nestled in the southern slopes of the Pirin Mountains, amongst the rock pyramids. The name Melnik is derived from the Slavic word “mel”, which means white clay or chalk. There is no precise information as to when it originated, but it is believed to have been a fortress to guard the southern Bulgarian border. Its population from the last census shows that 183 people live in the small town. Interestingly, men are with 1 more than women – 92 men and 91 women.

We arrived early and wondered what to do. We found the hotel we had booked “Holiday in Melnik” had a restaurant, so we sat down to have lunch while our room was being prepared. I don’t know if it makes sense to mention that they cook great. The people were very kind, accommodating us earlier than announced, for which we are very grateful. Because Marin had a work related appointment, I decided to leave him alone and stroll around the small town. I noticed that all people were smiling and happy. It’s so peaceful, it was like the time had stopped. After the walk I went back to the hotel and rested.

By 3pm it was still very hot outside, but that did not stop us from continuing with the plan for the day, namely to visit Rupite. The degrees outside were 37. The incredible beauty of this locality, located in Southwestern Bulgaria, is able to create in everyone a feeling of harmony and tranquility. There is hardly anyone who has not heard and knows nothing about this place. Apart from the fact that the place is known for its mineral springs at 75 ° C, perhaps the biggest reason for this place to be so famous and a favorite tourist destination is that Baba Vanga chose to spend her life there and build the Holy Temple “Saint Petka Bulgarian ”. According to Baba Vanga, this place feels very strong and is like a “battery” for her. The prophetess chose to be buried there so that after her death she could help people. A million years ago, the Rupite locality between the two Kozhuh and Pchelina ridges was a crater of an extinct volcano – the last volcano in our land that we know of. Vanga claimed that where the crater was, there was once a large city buried under a fiery lava.

In fact, nature and place are simply unique. It took us quite a while to look at everything
We started our tour of St. Petka Bulgarian Temple. Before the bridge that leads to it is a monument to Vanga, which is 1.80 meters high. We took some pictures of the monument, passed through the bridge and filled it with healing mineral water.

 We looked at the temple and headed to the museum. Everything inside was very interesting. We bought a book about Baba Vanga from the store right next to the museum, which I hope to finish soon.

The icons in the temple are painted by the famous artist Svetlin Rusev. Because the images of the saints are too realistic and are not endorsed by St. Synod.

 We checked Vanga’s house and the place where she accepted visitors.

There are ponds with turtles and very small fish in the area, we did not forget to take one picture of them. Just to note that the turtles may have been in their breeding season:

We have learned that the latest addition is the construction of a marble cross in 2009 at the behest of the prophetess, in memory of the victims of Kozhukh volcano.

So 2 hours have passed. It was time to go back to Melnik. However, we remembered that nearby is the Rozhen Monastery, which is the oldest monastery in Pirin Mountains. Of course we decided to go there. Nearby were the famous Melnik Pyramids, which we could not miss.

A little later we arrived at the monastery itself. Unfortunately, the monastery was empty and we couldn’t tour well inside.

We got already hungry, so we went back to have dinner at the hotel restaurant and have a glass of nice Melnik wine. Then we decided to take a walk around the town.

We climbed to the ruins of the Boyar House, which was built in the 13th century. And a little further up there was a great place for photos. We took pictures of town and decided to come back later in the evening.

So we did …

After the photos we were already tired, and I was very tired. So we spent our day. In my opinion, everyone should visit these places of paradise.