|
The Arbanassi house is built in the way that it was
possible to live in it for a long time without going out except for water
from the well in the yard. Every Arbanassi house is surrounded by high
stone walls. Every house had a hiding place. These things speak about the
uncertainty of the time when the people of this village lived. You can
enter the yard of the house through two big oak gates shouldered with big
columns and covered with four-layered roof. There is also a small door for
a constant connection with the street. There is a small iron door knocker
that hammers on a small iron panel. The old Arbanassi fountains with eaves
also arouse interest. These are the Kokon and Pazar fountains (Kokonska
cheshma, Pazarska cheshma).
The first one is opposite the Konstantzaliev's house and it was being built
in 1786 by Mehmed Said Aga. On the front side of the fountain there is a
stone inscription with relief old Arabic letters. The inscription says:
"Light will come in the eyes and soul of those who looks at it and drinks."
Out of the preserved houses, two are of interest - the Konstantzaliev's
house and the Hadjiilyiev's house.
Beside the Arbanassi houses, other sights of interest are the seven
Arbanassi churches and two monasteries: some of the most impressive
monuments of Bulgarian art in XIV-XVIII c. These are "The Nativity Church",
"Sts Archangels Michael and Gabriel's church", "St Demetrius' church", "St
Atanas' church", "St George's church", "Holy Virgin's monastery" and St
Nikolas' monastery.
In architectural plane they are basilicas, one-apse, with semi-cylindrical
vault under two-slope roof. They have stone construction; small iron-barred
windows and the floors are covered with square bricks. The Arbanassi
churches consist of two departments: naos (a men's department) and narthex
(a women's deprtment). Usually on the northern side there is a small
gallery that ends with small chapel. All the churches are wall-painted. The
wall-paintings reveal the development of the painting in its transition to
the art of the Bulgarian Renaissance and its connection with the capital of
the Second Bulgarian Kingdom - Tarnovgrad.
|