A general view of the main church at the Rila Monastery, some 125 km south-west...

A general view of the main church at the Rila Monastery, some 125 km south-west from Sofia on June 18, 2003. Rila Monastery, the biggest Bulgarian monastery was founded in the l0th century by the Bulgarian monk St. John of Rila and was rebuilt in the l3th -l4th century. In the l5th century, when Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks, the monastery was abandoned for a short time but in the second half of the same century it was restored to a new life. Later it was plundered and ravaged several times. A thorough renovation of the monastery began in the early l9th century.