Finding God's House
Today we went on a sort of pilgrimidge to three monasteries around Valjevo. It was about 9 km to the first one. We had the company of 5 or 6 stray dogs from Valjevo. Margot and I amused ourselves by naming them after mexican foods (taco, gordita, guacamole...)
The first monastery, Chelije, is the site of the grave of who has a good chance of being the fifth serbian saint in the Eastern Orthodox church (there have been only four since the twelfh century). We got to hear the last half of the service in the monastery (I love Orthodox services). The nuns were very sweet to us; inviting us all to coffee after the service. They were distinctly aware of our American-ness though-- one of the nuns remarked that "unfortunately, we know America only from bombs".
From there we walked to a restaurant right on the river. Getting to it required crossing a log bridge (Fear factor serbian style). (Margot would like to add that "bridge" is really an overstatement; it was really nothing more than a very thin and slippery log.)
The next monastery was a beautiful red brick creation called the Lelich Monastery. But our last stop, the Pustinja monastery, was really the best. It was built in the 14th century. The walls are covered with colorful and amazingly well preserved frescoes from the 17th century. The floor at the front is slightly different because it had to be replaced after raiding Turks dug it up looking for treasure (monasteries were popular places to hide valuables back in the day).
The frescoe of St. John the Baptist is protected by UNESCO, and thus the entire monastery is protected (in writing). Unfortunately, they're building an artificial lake in the valley that won't flood the monastery, but may affect the soil under the monastery (by raising the water table or something?)
The first monastery, Chelije, is the site of the grave of who has a good chance of being the fifth serbian saint in the Eastern Orthodox church (there have been only four since the twelfh century). We got to hear the last half of the service in the monastery (I love Orthodox services). The nuns were very sweet to us; inviting us all to coffee after the service. They were distinctly aware of our American-ness though-- one of the nuns remarked that "unfortunately, we know America only from bombs".
From there we walked to a restaurant right on the river. Getting to it required crossing a log bridge (Fear factor serbian style). (Margot would like to add that "bridge" is really an overstatement; it was really nothing more than a very thin and slippery log.)
The next monastery was a beautiful red brick creation called the Lelich Monastery. But our last stop, the Pustinja monastery, was really the best. It was built in the 14th century. The walls are covered with colorful and amazingly well preserved frescoes from the 17th century. The floor at the front is slightly different because it had to be replaced after raiding Turks dug it up looking for treasure (monasteries were popular places to hide valuables back in the day).
The frescoe of St. John the Baptist is protected by UNESCO, and thus the entire monastery is protected (in writing). Unfortunately, they're building an artificial lake in the valley that won't flood the monastery, but may affect the soil under the monastery (by raising the water table or something?)
posted by Ana at 5:42 PM
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Wow, sorry my postings aren't up to your literary standards. Looks like you found it from the EEFC list. My aunt posted that without me knowing; and I really wish she hadn't because I'm writing this purely so friends and family will know what's going on with me while I'm gone.
It really is difficult to spell everything correctly when you're pressed for time. If it really irks you, don't read it.
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