Paranoia and other pleasant things

Moldova, day 3 - amazing grace

After the night in the tent, we woke up in a cheerful mood around 6:30, ready to continue to the best part of our journey - the three painted monasteries. They’re called Sucevita, Moldovita and Voronet, were built in the 15th -16th century and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Also, they are breathtaking.

Robi changed the position of the tent’s cover, so that it could dry on the side that was previously in the shadow..

..and we crossed the road to see Sucevita. Since it was 7-8ish, there were no tourists yet, just the voices of the nuns singing at the mass in a lateral chuch and the chirping of the birds. The garden of the monastery was one of the most peaceful places I’ve been on this Earth.

The main church of the monastery matched the garden - beautiful and harmonious, not one broken proportion in it.

The paintings showed Biblical scenes, like the Last Judgement, more speciphically the moment when the angels throw in the flames the damned:

Here’s Saint George killing the dragon (too bad the fresco is damaged by all the dimwits that felt the urge to immortalise their names on the wall):

And some not-so-biblical mermaids:

After Sucevita we went to Marginea, where we bought some black pottery from the local artisan (Gorgeous clay vases made with a technique used only there and in Mexico for under 4 bucks. Beat that.) and then off to Moldovita we were, on a road that had on both sides postcard-like views.

Moldovita was the most degraded from the three of them, but still had some nicely preserved frescoes and a museum (no pictures allowed, as usually) with Bibles, icons and priest garments from medieval times.

The fresco above my head is a religious calendar, with all the patron saints of each day painted in the proper order:

Last was Voronet, home of an unique shade of blue that didn’t pale one bit in the centuries since it was painted, and which cannot be restaurated since its’ recipe is lost and the chemists weren’t able to reproduce the composition. Good grief, to think what the idiots that graffitied their names in that marvel did.

This whole wall was dedicated to the Last Judgement, a theme near and dear to the painters in those times.

The good guys go to heaven..

..while the bad guys (read - heathens and Turks) look rather worried for their long-term future..

.. especially considering the river of fire under their legs and the hungry looks they get from the whale and octopus, giving a whole new meaning to the term “seafood”.

The trip from Voronet to Lespezi was uneventful. We were greeted with joy by Robi’s cousins and spent the evening chatting, drinking and laughing along with the kids at the way they could entertain themselves with our insulating matresses:

Posted under: on the road