Rock monastery and catacombs - history and nature

Rock "Aladzha" Monastery is a medieval Orthodox Christian cave monastery complex in northeastern Bulgaria, in a protected forest area adjacent to the Golden Sands Nature Park.

The monastery caves were hewn into a 25-m high vertical karst cliff near the upper edge of the Franga Plateau on several levels. The complex includes two small nearby catacombs. Dedicated to the Holy Trinity, it was an active hesychast monastic community of the Second Bulgarian Empire since the 12th century and perhaps survived until the early 18th century.

As late as the early 20th century, the forested hills surrounding the monastery and known as Hachuka (Mount of the Cross) or Latin, were regarded by locals as sacred and inhabited by a mythical chthonic daemon treasure keeper, Imri Pop or Rim-Papa. Today, the grotto is a popular tourist destination. Its present name appeared in the late Ottoman period; Alaca (Turkish for motley) referred to its colourful murals, now almost destroyed.

We will walk to the monastery and the catacombs and look for Imri Pop. Will we find him ... see for yourself!