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DAY - 1:
Arrival in Sofia. Meeting, welcome and assistance by a tour guide. Transfer to
the hotel. Lunch. A half day sightseeing tour of Sofia - "St.Sofia" 6th
century basilica, "St. George" 4th century Rotunda, the Russian
Church, the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the National Theatre, the Tsar Osvoboditel
Monument etc. A visit to Boyana Church and the National History Museum. Dinner
at a folk-style restaurant Overnight in Sofia.
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DAY - 2:
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for the Rila Monastery, one of the Europe's
largest monasteries, a rare monument of the Bulgarian revival period, under
the protection of UNESCO. The Monastery fascinates its visitors with the
pure and harmonious line of the buildings' exquisite colonnades, arches and
vaults and spacious rooms richly decorated with murals and fretwork. The
monastery's most treasured historic and artistic monuments include the 14th
century Hrelyo Tower, the five-domed Birth of the Blessed Virgin Church and
the original monastery kitchen from the 19th century. The monastery also
houses a rich museum collection of valuable old manuscripts and documents,
charters and icons, an ethnographic exhibition of fabrics, jewelry, carpets
and wrought iron objects, and a rich library. Sightseeing of the Monastery.
Lunch. Continue to the town of Bansko - a lovely town, huddled at the
foothills of the most picturesque part of the majestic Pirin Mountains. A
town with well preserved old buildings, original architecture, numerous monuments
of culture, churches, museum-houses etc. Sightseeing of the town. Picnic
with folklore program in the majestic woods of the Pirin Mountains. Here
you will experience something different and unusual. You will be taken by
horse-drawn carts from the town of Bansko up to the mountain. There you will
have a barbecue meal, sampling the delicious Bulgarian white and red wines.
Then a floor-show will be performed by a local folklore group of young girls
and boys, dressed in beautiful traditional costumes, characteristic of the
Pirin region. Overnight in Bansko.
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DAY - 3:
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to the Rojen Monastery - the only monastery
restored during the first centuries of the Ottoman rule which has survived
to this day. Rozhen Monastery owes its fame above all to its carved iconostasis
and lecterns. It has left us with a treasure in another art as well - that
of calligraphy. A unique work of the calligraphic school, which existed here,
is the manuscript "Interpretation of Jonah". Sightseeing of the
Monastery. Lunch. Continue to the town of Melnik - Bulgaria's smallest town.
Thracians, Romans and Byzantines have written its history. Trace of it are
preserved in unique monuments of old architecture, some of which are of national
significance. Melnik's houses are spacious, with wide eaves and towers, high
stained glass windows, carved ceilings, large cellars and ornamental murals.
Sightseeing of the town. Drive to the Greek border to see off the group.
Please Note:
Depending on the time of arrival in Sofia on the first day, there is a possibility
of visiting the Museum of National history in Boyana village and the Boyana
church - a cultural monument under the protection of UNESCO. The most remarkable
feature of the church are its frescos from 1259, painted by an unknown Bulgarian
artist in the style of the V. Turnovo School of Painting and are the best
achievement of Bulgarian mediaeval art.
"DM TRAVEL" Ltd.
THE MONASTERIES IN BULGARIA
WINE TOUR
THESE CHARMING LITTLE BULGARIAN TOWNS...
THE BEST OF BULGARIA
BULGARIA UNKNOWN
WEEKEND TOURS AROUND SOFIA
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