Arapovski Monastery St. Nedelya

The Arapovski monastery St. Nedelya is situated near the village of Zlatovrah, some 20 km away from the town of Asenovgrad. It was established in 1856 and is the only Bulgarian monastery, built during the Ottoman yoke. It is also the only monastery built in the middle of a valley, instead of isolated somewhere in the mountain. The monastery was built using money granted by the famous fighter against the Turkish domination Angel the Voivode. It has a unique architecture and represents an interesting monument of the culture of the Bulgarian Revival. The most precious thing in the monastery are its mural paintings, work of two of the most prominent painters from the time of the Bulgarian revival Georgi Danchov Zografina and Alexi Atanasov. The masters painted scenes from the life of the Slavonic first teachers, which is something new for the Bulgarian art of painting: the creation of the Bulgarian alphabet, the adoption of the Christian belief during the ruling of prince Boris I, and the enlightenment of the Bulgarian people. Along with these paintings, the presented historical scenes also picture many Bulgarian peasants wearing national costumes.