Uzundzhovo Church

Overview

The largest rural church in Bulgaria is located in the village of Uzundzhovo, about 10 kilometers from Haskovo. In 1500 a Christian church dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God was built in Uzundzhovo. In 1593 it was destroyed and a mosque was built in its place. This mosque was part of a huge caravanserai, ie. an area with a place to eat and sleep for passengers and trade caravans. The main entrance-arch to this caravanserai is preserved to this day and can be seen in the churchyard. In 1906, however, the mosque and the entire area around it were ceded by Turkey to Bulgaria. Shortly afterwards, the mosque was transformed into a Christian church.

In the past, the village of Uzundzhovo itself was the center of the largest fair in the Ottoman Empire, which during its heyday was visited by over 50,000 people - an impressive figure at the time. The fair was held in September and provided important contact of the local population with European traders. Its founder is considered to be Sinan Pasha, the Grand Vizier of Sultan Murad III.

The Uzundzhovo church is distinguished by several things:

- the strange architecture of the temple - both a Christian church and a mosque;
- the Glagolitic alphabet of the iconostasis;
The iconostasis of the Uzundzhovo Church is unique due to its decoration and symbolism. It reflects a prayer written in the first alphabet, created by the brothers-educators Cyril and Methodius - Glagolitic
- DNA helices, symbolizing life, depicted in the iconostasis, just below the Glagolitic alphabet;
- the vertical icon with the Last Supper locked between the two DNA helices. In most churches, the icon is horizontal
tulip in several copies. In the decoration of the church there are tulips in several places. Some associate these tulips with Master Lallo, a Bulgarian who built the mosque and wanted to sign his case. Another interpretation of the tulip as an ornament was the fashion at the time in the Ottoman Empire, according to which the tulip was an important fragment in ornamentation. The church has amazing acoustics.