Sokolski Monastery

Posted on 28.11.2011 by admin

Sokolski Monastery is located 15 kilometers Southeast from Gabrovo in area called Sokolova cave. The location and the name of its founder Yosif Sokolski give this name to the monastery.

The monastery is found in 1833 by Yosif Sokolski and yeromonah Agapiy. They both have chosen the stone terrace in front of Sokolova cave to be place for the new monastery and carved a space for a church into the rock. The church is small and wooden and nearby is built wooden house for living. Everything is ready in January 1833 and is sanctified by Ilarion Kritski in August 1834.

The recent church is built in 1834, and the interior and exterior murals ate painted by priest Pavale and his son Nikolay. The whole monastery including the murals is renovated not long ago with aid by the European Union funds. The whole monastery complex is completed during the National Revival with the help of inhabitants of Gabrovo and the surrounding villages.

Like most monasteries, Sokolski monastery is connected with the fights for freedom of the Bulgarian nation. On 1st of May 1876 the monastery is a rallye point for the Gabrovo participants of the April rebell, led by Tzanko Dyustabanov.

The easiest access is from Gabrovo with car, there are enough signs in the area.

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Eight news malls will open in 2012

Posted on 14.11.2011 by admin

A third wave of malls will come in Bulgaria in the next two years. In the next year in the country eight new malls will be open. These are: Mega MALL Lulin, Paradise center and Bulgaria MALL in Sofia, Galeria Burgas ans Strand in Burgas; Galeria Varna, MALL Pleven and Grand Plaza Rousse. The whole renting area of trade spaces will be 288 000 square meters. For example, the whole area of trade spaces of the malls open in the first wave – before the crysis and in the second wave – in 2010, is 560 000 square meters.

In 2012 in Sofia there will be 306 square meters of modern trade area per 1000 people. This ranks the city to the gighest level in Europe.

The MALL investors had a serious dilema: to start the building of the projects and to have hard negotiations with renters, to discount the renting rates, etc. on one side, or not to start the projects at all. The second decision would lead to huge financial losses. Now the investors look for fresh ideas fro the trade centers. For example Paradise Center in Sofia will suggest a lot of entertainment. Bowling and cinema already are old form of entertainment.

The rates for renting of trade space in the malls in Sofia are around 30 EUR per square meter, in the province they are between 5 and 18 EUR per square meter, depending on the area of the space and on which floor is located.

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Tervel of Bulgaria

Posted on 02.11.2011 by admin

Tervel was the emperor of Bulgaria in the beginning of the 8th century. Khan Tervel belonged to the Dulo clan and reigned for 21 years. After the Bulgarian army crushed the arabs at the siege for Constantinopole (718) Tervel was called the saviour of Europe.

Tervel is mentioned first in Byzantine sources in 704, when he was approached by the deposed and exiled Byzantine emperor Justinian II. Justinian acquired Tervel’s support for an attempted restoration to the Byzantine throne in exchange for friendship, gifts, and his daughter in marriage. With an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel, Justinian advanced on Constantinople and succeeded to enter the city in 705. The restored emperor executed his supplanters, the emperors Leontius and Tiberius III and many of their supporters. Justinian awarded Tervel with many gifts, the title of kaisar (Caesar), which made him second only to the emperor and the first foreign ruler in Byzantine history to receive such a title, and a territorial concession in Thrace – region called Zagora.

On 25 May 717 Leo III the Isaurian was crowned Emperor of Byzantium. During the summer of the same year the Arabs led by Maslama crossed the Dardanelles and besieged Constantinople with 200,000 men. According to Arab sources his fleet consisted of 2,500 ships.

Leo III asked Tervel for help and Tervel agreed. The first clash between the Bulgarian and the Arab troops ended with a Bulgarian victory. During the first stages of the siege the Bulgarians appeared in the Muslim rear and large part of their army was killed and the rest were trapped. The Arab troops built two trenches around their camp facing the Bulgarian army and the walls of the city. They persisted with the siege despite the severe winter with 100 days of snowfall. In the summer of 718 the Arabs engaged the Bulgarians in a decisive battle but suffered a crushing loose and had to leave the siege. According to Theophanes, the Bulgarians slaughtered some 22,000 Arabs in the battle, while Zigebert writes for 30,000. The Byzantine-Bulgarian victory of 718 and the victory of the Frankish king Charles Martel in the battle of Tours stopped the islam invasion in Europe. Khan Tervel was called the Saviour of Europe by his contemporaries

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