Rozhen Monastery

From Rila to the Greek border it would be recommendable to make a stop at this Monastery a hundred kilometers from Rila. Past Sandanski has to turn to Melnik and we'll find it 7 km northeast. It was founded in the year 1220 by Aleksei Slav, a feudal lord of the 13th century, but soon fell into ruin until the restoration of the year 1597. During the Ottoman occupation the Orthodox Church used it as a convent until Bulgarian hands again in the year 1912. The structures surrounding the monastery church are irregular hexagon-shaped wooden balconies. It is a 16th century church. A porch protects the exterior frescoes which shows some believers going up a stairway to heaven with the help of angels as demons try to throw a monster.