This past week we had the opportunity to visit several Romanian Orthodox Monasteries in the northeastern part of Romania. It is about a 7-hour trip by car from where we live in Bucharest. The region is quiet and beautiful with rolling hills and mountains, with lots of small villages and farmland. The monasteries are very old (most were built between the 14th-16th centuries) with beautiful artwork. Please journey with us through the following blog posts, including pictures of Voronet Monastery, called the "Sistine Chapel of the East" and Putna Monastery, called the "Jerusalem of the Romanian people." Because there are so many beautiful pictures, this post will include the first day of our trip, with more posts to come!
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| Day 1: Traveled to Apapia Monastery |
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| Inside the archway leading into the monastery |
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| The church inside Apapia Monastery |
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| Cameron inside Apapia Monastery |
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| After visiting Agapia Monastery, we decided to walk up to see Agapia Veche (Old Agapia). It was a lot longer and harder to walk 1.6 KM than we thought... |
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| A beautiful painted well on the way up to Agapia Veche. |
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| When we finally got to the top of the mountain at Agapia Veche, we knew it was worth the walk. |
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| A painting inside the archway at the entrance of a priest offering the monastery to Jesus. |
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| The church inside Agapia Veche. |
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| On the way back down the mountain, we stopped to take a few pictures. |
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| It was snowing! |
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| It was snowy and slippery on the way down. |
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| On our way to Neamt Monastery, we saw a beautifully painted church, so we stopped to take a few pictures! |
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| Aristotle & Plato painted on the side of the church |
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| Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) holding the church. |
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| The inside of the church. This is one of the few pictures we have of the inside of a church, because most of the monasteries did not allow pictures inside the churches. The paintings are amazing, including stories from the Bible and church history. |
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| The outside of the church |
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| The entrance into Neamt Monastery. We also visited the museum, which was really amazing, including the sword and crown of the famous ruler Stefan cel Mare. |
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| The church inside Neamt Monastery |
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| Another view of the church inside Neamt Monastery |
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| The outside view of Neamt Monastery |
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| The view from our hotel in Gura Humorului. |
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| A nice dinner after a long day. |
To be continued...
Beautiful: keep posting as you journey together! Blessings, love and prayers, Alexandra
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