19/10 - празникът на Свети Иван Рилски

Днес почитаме Свети Иван Рилски - единственият светец, за когото всички са единодушни, че е българин. 

На снимката - вторият етаж на Рилския манастир.

Scroll down for English 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

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Историята зад кадър:

Била съм на това място страшно много пъти (вече доста отдавна не ги броя). В повечето случаи на тази дата грее ясно слънце и е пълно с народ. Не и този път :) Валеше дъжд (и беше около 8 градуса по Целзий) и затова почти нямаше хора, иначе на този ден манастирът е претъпкан с хора от къде ли не - включително гърци, руснаци и какви ли не други (при това поклонници, не просто туристи на екскурзия). Като бонус, на този ден беше пълно с монаси и монахини от различни държави, дошли при своите колеги специално за празника.

За мястото:

Рилският манастир е най-големият на Балканския полуостров. Основан е от Св. Иван Рилски някъде в края на 10ти век (поне така се твърди) и днес в него се съхраняват мощите на светеца. Това е много, ама МНОГО популярен туристически обект, част от списъка със световното културно наследство на ЮНЕСКО. В самия манастир може да се преспи, но нямам представа нито какви са условията, нито какви са цените. 

Ако ходите, непременно посетете църквата, разбира се в подходящо облекло (без къси гащи или потници). Вътре в самата църква снимането е АБСОЛЮТНО забранено. 

Фотосъвет:

Най-хубавите снимки стават от втория или третия етаж на манастира (ако успеете да се промъкнете). Възможно е да ви трябва широкоъгълен обектив, защото мястото трудно се обхваща с един кадър. 

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Rila Monastery, at the day of st. Ivan Rila

Or what happens if you get on the third floor of the monastery (because someone forgot to put the restraining rope).

The story behind the shot:

I've visited this place many times. In most cases, on this day there is a lot of sunshine and crowds. Not this time, though :) it was raining (and it was about 8 degrees Celsius) and that's why there were almost no people, otherwise on this day the monastery is crowded with people from everywhere - including Greeks, Russians and many others (pilgrims, mind you, not just tourists on a vacation). As a bonus, this day was full of monks and nuns from different countries who came to visit their colleagues for the holiday.

About the place:

Rila Monastery is the largest monastery on the Balkan Peninsula. It was founded by Sveti Ivan Rilski (Saint John of Rila) somewhere at the end of the 10th century ( or so the legend goes) and today the relics of the saint are kept inside. This is a very, very popular tourist site, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. You can sleep in the monastery, but I have no idea what the conditions are or what prices are.

If you go, do visit the church, of course in proper attire (no shorts or tops). Inside the church itself, photography or filming is absolutely FORBIDDEN.

Photoadvice:

The best photos can be taken from the second or third floor of the monastery (if you can sneak in since access is denied to visitors, actually). You may need a wide-angle lens because the place is hard to cover with one shot.

Happy Easter

Христос Воскресе! 

Когато си фотограф, не можеш просто да качиш случайна снимка на яйца и козунаци, трябва да са си твоите, актуални тазгодишни яйца и козунаци :) 

When you are a photographer, you cannot simply post random Easter greeting - you need your own images - so happy celebrations everyone :)

Весели празници на всички и се забавлявайте! 

#bistrastoimenova #photography #easterbunnywashere #eastereggs #kozunak #easterbread #celebration #orthodox #orthodoxeaster #traditions⁷

Happy Saint Nicolas day! The food. Part 2

Hello, everybody! 

In the previous post I talked about the tradition behind the celebrations on 6th of December. In this post, which is going to be way shorter, I'll show you the recipe for this year. As you remember the fish is always a carp so only the other ingredients vary. In case you don't remember or you haven't read the previous post - here is some info:

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

Ok, you saw the idea from the previous year - radioactive St. Nicolas' day carp with rice and turmeric sauce - that recipe I'll give you another time. 

The recipe this year is a bit different - we again have rice and walnuts and a carp but it looks different:

It is a common carp stuffed with rice, walnuts, raisins and leek and puree of creme cheese, spinach and leek.

Here it is the recipe!

You'll need:

1 carp - around 2 kg.

3 pieces of leek

250 g. rice - white normal rice

100 g. raisins

100 g. walnuts

1 jar/packet/ whatever they sell them in your country/ of creme cheese or cheese and a lot of butter - around 250 g.

coriander - fresh - put as much as you like

black pepper

cinnamon

salt

water

cherry tomatoes - if you want to copy the flowers from the picture

How to do it?

1. OK, you'll need to cut the leek into rings and then fry it in some oil (choose the type - olive oil will be perfect but all other types will do). Then you add the raisins and the walnuts to the leek.

Somewhere around that point you add a bit of water.

You add the coriander and let the whole thing stew for a little - you'll need a deep pan or a casserole to get all ingredients in. 

2.Then you add the rice and the spices - the black pepper and the cinnamon - again - put as much as you like in there. 

By the time you've added all things to the mixture it should look like this:

3. So, now you have to leave it to get the rice boiled a little - not over boil it because when you stuff the carp with it and bake it it will look like a very unpleasant lump with no particular ingredients. So you boil it for, say, half an hour and you proceed to the stuffing procedure.

Stuffing of the carp

Here you'll probably need an assistant - to hold the fish steady while you stuff it with the mixture created during the previous steps. Let's however, go over some things you do BEFORE that:

1. Clean the carp - that means all scales and intestines (to do that cut the carp open and cut out the intestines you find in its belly). DO NOT throw away the scales - they have to be buried in the yard with the bones to bring good luck :)

2. Rinse the carp with cold water to get rid of the blood and clean the belly.  

3. Stuff the carp - have someone hold it open for you and you put the stuffing in. Don't worry if the stuffing is much more than the carp's belly can hold - you just put it around it in the pan/pot you'll be using to bake it in. So, after you stuff it you have to sew up the opening so that the stuffing doesn't get out during the baking process. You'll need a big needle and a strong thread to do that. 

I don't have pictures of that because I was the assistant - you see, you can't hold a camera if both your hands are around the belly of a fish.

Baking

1. After you stuff and sew up the carp you place it in whatever you'll use to bake it it - it should be big enough for the carp to lie on one side. 

2. You put all the remaining stuffing around the carp and add a bit of water - 1/2 liter or more - depends on how much stuffing you have left.

3. Put it in the oven for around 40 minutes - when it's ready it should look like this:

The spinach/leek/cheese puree

This one is the tricky part. 

So for that you'll need

1 piece of leek

500 g. of spinach

250 g. of creme cheese (in case this doesn't exist in your country - get the softest white cheese - Feta will do - and a lot of butter and put the two into a blender)

1. Clean the spinach and cut it as if for salad. Cut the leek into rings and fry them until they show some sign of getting cooked. 

2. Put the cheese and get the blender ready - it would take a lot of time to get the creamy texture you are looking for.

3. If you are fan of fancy-looking food in you dish try this;

Get some shapes you use for cutting cookies and fill them with the puree - don't forget to put some foil underneath so that nothing leaks out.

Put the forms into the freezer for half an hour - AT MOST - I left them there for a day and they froze. 

Use them as decoration.

Since I had mine frozen I used flowers made from cherry tomatoes to make up for that. They are easy to make - you just start cutting the petals from the top without cutting them out fully. When you're done with the whole tomato and spread the petals - you have a wonderful flower.

Enjoy! If you do the recipe, I'll be glad to see a picture and to read your comments on it :)

Happy Saint Nicolas day! About the day and the saint. Part 1

Hi everyone, I haven't written in while but it had been a busy time for me. 

Anyway, the topic of the following post will have to do with religion, customs and above all - FOOD!

So let's get to religion first. Who is St. Nicolas and why do we celebrate the 6th of December each year? To tell you that I'll have to tell you a kindergarten story:

St. Nicolas was born in a wealthy family. His parents loved him very much and took good care of him but they died when he was a young man. St. Nicolas had no idea what to do with all the wealth left by his parents so he left it aside for a while. He didn't spend it, but he didn't give it all away either. One day, he heard a poor man complain to a friend - he had three daughters but could not afford to pay the dowry of even the eldest so that she could marry the man she loved. The poor man was worried of what would happen to his children if they don't get married - they will be avoided by the other members of the small society, insulted as burden to them, even deemed prostitutes - for why else would three beautiful young girls stay unmarried? St. Nicolas said nothing to the man - decided that first should check the story and learn more about him. So he followed him to see where he lived. It was a poor cottage and the man indeed had three beautiful daughters. While the girls were working, they were talking about the same things - how they won't be able to marry because on no dowry. St. Nicolas decided that if he gave the money in public the man would not accept them because of pride. So he devised another plan. The following night he slipped into the poor man's house and left three purses filled with gold coins by the side of each daughter's bed. The three girls rejoiced when they found the money the next morning. They got married soon after and lived in peace and joy with their husbands. Saint Nicolas found a good way to use the fortune left by his parents - whenever he saw someone in need, he just gave the money the person needed and left it by the side of the bed of that person at night. 

So, to cut the long story short - Saint Nicolas was the prototype of Santa Claus - the two names even sound familiar. he had been a real historical figure: here is how the wikipedia article puts it: 

Saint Nicholas (Greek: Ἅγιος Νικόλαος, Hagios Nikólaos, Latin: Sanctus Nicolaus); (15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Νικόλαος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos ho Thaumaturgos). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day―St Nicholas Day (6 December, Gregorian calendar, in Western Christianity and 19 December, Julian calendar, in Eastern Christianity);and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of "Saint Nikolaos". His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints. In 1087, part of the relics (about half of the bones) were furtively translated to Bari, in Apulia, Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari. The remaining bones were taken to Venice in AD 1100.

The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican,Catholic, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. In addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe.

Here is how St. Nicolas looked like - an icon - image taken from wikipedia.org

So, on the 6th of December we celebrate the day of St. Nicolas. Originally, it was the day on which children receive gifts. St. Nicolas was the original Father Christmas - before the 1920s and Coca Cola's marketing idea. 

In many countries children do receive gifts on that day, in Bulgaria there is a different tradition. Since he is the patron saint of sailors, on that day no one goes out at sea - it is said that from this day onwards - for a few weeks up to New Year's Eve - the sea is too dangerous to go into. The traditional dish is fish - nowadays of any kind but the traditional type is common carp - guess because the fish is very common in our region. Here is a picture of how it looks like - in case you don't know:

Image taken from: http://www.outdooralabama.com/common-carp 

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

I will post a picture of the carp we ate last year to get an impression of  what the whole thing looks like: 

As for this year's carp - I'll write again with the recipe and some pictures when it's ready. Wait for part two of the post :) 

Rila Monastery - the biggest monastery on the Balkan peninsula part 1 Or - general rules for visiting Eastern Orthodox churches and monasteries

Hello everybody,

Today I'm gonna take you to Rila Monastery - the biggest monastery on the Balkan peninsula. It is situated in the Rila mountains next to the Rila town. If you are traveling from Sofia - you'll have to drive for about two hours - there is a new motorway. In case you don't know where to turn - at the point together with the brown road signs (which indicate a place of cultural significance and hence - a tourist attraction) there is a big stone statue of St. Ivan Rilski - the patron saint of the monastery, a miracle worker and patron saint of Bulgaria as well. I can't show you a picture because it never crossed my mind that I should. Next time, maybe. Since it is a favourite place of mine, you will see several posts about it - I will try to tell you different things about it each time. 

How the monastery looks from the outside

The first thing you need to know is that is an ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN (EASTERN ORTHODOX I mean - think of Greece and Russia and you'll get the point) monastery so there are a few things you should know BEFORE you go there.

What to wear?

When you are traveling, you want to be comfortable, right? Well, when you go to a monastery or church in Bulgaria there are a few restrictions:

- Shorts, strapless tops or dresses (or such with straps altogether), short dresses are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. It is considered an offense to God and the church to go in like that so they will either give you a scarf to tie around yourself or tell you that you cannot enter. You need to be wearing a top with sleeves (short at least but sleeves). Low cut clothes are also forbidden for the same reason. THE WHOLE THING ABOVE GOES FOR BOTH SEXES AND ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS!!! It doesn't matter if it is 40 degrees Celsius outside - you should show respect no matter what.

- Unlike Greece, where they will make you wear a skirt, even if you are in long jeans, or Russia - where they make you cover your hair - here no such things are needed. You just need a skirt at knee length at least or long pantaloons and a top with at least the hint of sleeves and no low cut neck line. 

Pictures:

Snapping is a disease sometimes so you should be careful where do you take your camera out!

- Taking pictures INSIDE MOST CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES IS FORBIDDEN UNLESS YOU ASK FIRST. Sometimes they will say it's OK as long as you do not disturb the other people (which means - NO FLASH) but in most times it is strictly forbidden unless it is a very big holiday (when everyone has a camera) or a wedding/ christening etc.  In Rila Monastery you cannot take pictures inside. 

In Church:

Orthodox Christian churches have very little to do with Catholic ar Protestant ones. 

- You will see chairs in the church along the walls but they are NOT for sitting. They are intended for those who cannot stand on their own or are too sick to do so. Unlike Catholic churches - here you pray on your feet, not on your knees. So, don't sit unless you feel faint.

The chairs I told you about - only these are OUTSIDE the church - just below a window

- BEWARE OF CANDLES - everyone who goes inside the church to pray lights a candle or many. The custom is that uneven numbers (1, 3, 5 etc) are for the LIVING and even ones (2, 4, 6, etc.) are for the DEAD. Keep that in mind if you want to do what everyone else is doing. For the living you place you candles on your eye level - there are many candelabras, don't worry - and for the dead - above ground in SAND (In Greece it's all in sand - guess it's because it's easy to clean and they have a lot of it).

What I was trying to say is that candles are most often made of wax which is very hot as it melts and can ruin your clothes and gear if you are not careful. Also - if it is a big holiday - there are a lot of people with candles around you so BEWARE OF CATCHING FIRE - hair and clothes from artificial materials are prone to that. 

- Be respectful - don't get in the way of monks/ preachers etc. They have their won work to do and tourists are none of their concern - there are tour guides for that. DON'T LAUGH AND TALK IN A LOUD VOICE INSIDE! You interrupt others and make noise and it is generally bad behavior. 

- Icons and frescoes CANNOT (in most cases) be touched! You can ruin them by accident. 

Some of the frescoes with a fountain.

- Be careful with oxygen - when candles burn, they use up the oxygen in the room so if you feel dizzy - go outside IMMEDIATELY. carbon mono-oxide is not to be trifled with.

Here you can get water - it's not only potable but one of the best tasting in the country.

So, after we got trough the preliminary - what about the monastery itself? Or the saint? 

You'll learn about that in my next post :)