Church of the Assumption in Uzundzhovo, the Muslim-Christian sacred monument

I have visited hundreds of churches. By a specific set of circumstances, I have visited more Catholic than Orthodox churches, and in different countries.
I love the Aachen Cathedral, the particular silence of the historic Basilica of the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Prüm, the Steinfeld Basilica with the curious Tomb of Hermann Joseph or the gorgeous Rococo Basilica of St. Paulinus in Trier, to mention only a few of them.

(This ordinary looking bell tower that greets you at the entrance to the place I will show you today cannot prepare you for what you will see inside.)

Each place has its own special atmosphere, its own spirit, which the individual visitor likes or dislikes, each place affects each of us differently, awakens old memories deeply buried in our DNA, speaks to us, attracts us or repels us.
And today I will show you an extraordinary place that moved me very much during my visit.

We all know about those numerous Christian churches that were converted into mosques at the time of the Ottoman conquest, for example. In the conquest of some Christian part of the world by representatives of the Muslim world. Much of Europe was part of this history, this stage of world history. Just like Bulgaria. But as we have all heard of this display of superiority of the Muslim religion over the Christian, how much have you seen from the opposite?

In how many places have you seen the exact opposite - a mosque converted into a Christian temple?

I'll tell you how many times I've seen it myself - only once.

I'm not going to philosophize about religions here, I don't want to talk about things I don't quite understand. All my visits to such places are not accidental. I was constantly looking for something there. Explanations and answers to my personal questions, which I didn't get anyway, so I won't say anything about religion.

What I would say without hesitation though is that both religions have done a wonderful job here, making this place magical.

I would love to hear your stories too. Have you been in such a place, how did it feel? Will my theory be confirmed?

First of all, the village in which this church is located - Uzundzhovo - is quite special. Not in a good way. Bulgaria is a declined country, which is being depopulated by its indigenous population and is being populated more and more by Roma. Uzundzhovo is one such village where one is afraid to get out of the car to photograph something on the street. But the church, in contrast to this, is an oasis, which is not only an oasis of salvation, of religion and faith, but it is also a portal to another era. A place where one is not sure if one is really seeing what one sees or if one's eyes are deceiving one.

This is an Arabic inscription, as I found out, above the main entrance of the mosque. Nowadays, the building is entered from a different place, perhaps because of the change of religion. But the most impressive are actually the decorations on this facade part of the temple.

This ancient temple was originally built at the end of the 16th century, and perhaps its antiquity is one of the things that impresses me so much about it.

But perhaps most impressive of all is the desire of the local people to renovate it without destroying it and thus preserve its beauty, uniqueness and sanctity.

You know, I don't believe much in history being taught in school or imposed as status quo on the masses, and I have great reasons for that.
Regarding Bulgaria, it turned out that we know nothing about events just from several decades ago. Documents and archives are burned and a handful of historians fight to prove the existence of something that has been declared non-existent.

I know this is another topic for another post, I just wanted to say that history is an unprovable "thing". While the not destroyed remnants of history, like this building here, do the work of 100 written textbooks.

Yes, this is a very long topic. And it will have its continuation here.
Today I have shown you only pictures of the exterior of the temple. Next you will see the interior where, to my greatest surprise, photography is allowed and I didn't have to take photos stealthily 😄

I hope I have piqued your interest to some degree. 😊

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|