One Man in Bulgaria

I ended my last post with the words that I was not going to go into the historical details however I thought that I would give you some clues. National heroes Vasil Levski, Stephan Karadzha, Filip Tptyu, Bacho Kiro, participants of the April Uprising and others were held hostage and tortured in the prison. Russian Prince Alexander M. Dondukov-Korsakov fought against the British in the previous war in the Crimea before the Russians were persuaded to support revolution in Bulgaria. The Russians were partly persuaded because of the renaissance of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which had flirted with the protection of the Pope and 'Holy Roman Empire' before gaining strength and independence from the Ottoman supported Greek Orthodox Church.  Politics, taxes and corruption all played their part. Nothing changes. Tarnovo was central to all of these influences and consequences although the new King, Boris III, never took residence as the capital had moved to Sofia by the time he was ...

Day three (Thursday 17th December) dawned cold and clear. I started my day with coffee and sandwich at the cafe next to the National Theatre. Again no access and no sign of a production I could attend.  I continued up the side of the theatre then up ul. "Georgie Benkovski" to arrive opposite the Russian Church of  'St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker' which I had passed on my way back on Monday. The photograph shows the proximity to other destinations on my walking tour. This ornate building was modelled on 16th century Muscovite churches as it was consecrated in 1914 to serve the Russian community. I have said golden domes, but that is just part of the treasures contained in this building. Alas photography is not allowed but the frescos taken from 17th century paintings covering every inch of the walls must be seen. There is also a crypt containing the grave of Archbishop Serafim who gave solace to the Russian exiles from the Bolshevik Revolution.