Good day everyone,
Today, I will tell you the story of a beautiful and charming little village in Rhodope mountain.
Manastir village - the highest altitude populated area in Bulgaria, 1500 m. above sea level.
Here's how I got here. The year was 2017, I learned about an initiative to spend 6 days in the village, helping the locals in their everyday work and in the process to get to know their way of life and culture. I thought the idea is very interesting and decided to participate.
When I arrived there the first day, I was immediately captivated by the beauty of nature, took out the camera, and started shooting right away 😎
The group I was traveling with was comprised of 6 people from different corners of Bulgaria. We took a short walk around the village to meet some of the local people.
On the second day, we gathered firewood for a local family and hay for the livestock.
The third day, we helped freshen up the local library and museum - changing the windows, painting the walls, cleaning and arranging. We finished by early afternoon and the lady managing the library surprised us with homemade local dishes. The rest of the day we spent exploring the area.
The fourth day we visited another close-by village - Dryanovo. There we еnjoyed the local singing group and more of the local food specialties : ) I took some nice photos of the beautiful nature.
On the fifth day, we learned how to cook some local dishes and homemade butter.
The last day was a very special day for Manastir. It was a "family reunion" day for the whole village. Once a year everyone connected to this place gathers and celebrates. On this day the quiet village becomes very lively. Everyone is excited to meet their relatives who sometimes come from far away.
We had to leave the next day, but I couldn't stay away for long. I came back two weeks later. The locals were happy to see me and we became closer. I still keep going back there.
A remembrance photo of the event:
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