From Prilep to Sofia

In the morning we pack up and continue on our journey towards Sofia. A message arrives that Roman has already landed there. But it’ll take us another five or six hours before we can pick him up.
On the way to Sofia, we detour off the main road after Kumanov to look for a church in the small village of Staro Nagoricani. The church dates back to the 11th century and its interior is decorated with 14th-century frescoes from the floor all the way up to the cupola. There is a unique scene in which Jesus is arguing with artists who are mocking him on his way to Golgotha for looking like a king. There’s also St. George with a very pretty dragon – a snake with horns. Above the church entrance is an inscription in old Cyrillic and under an opening into the corner church tower is a fresco containing a plaque written in old Cyrillic.
Only later, when we are further on our way, do we learn that Kokin, only a few kilometres from the church, is home to the oldest megalithic observatory in the world, older than Stonehenge, which was not discovered until six years ago. The site is surrounded by several plateaus rising above mild rolling hills, which gives the whole area a friendly and open spiritual energy.
Standa’s car manages to get a puncture so we have to change the tire. The roads after the Bulgarian border are even worse than before but we are in a hurry to reach Sofia. We arrive before 8 p.m., say goodbye to Agnes, who is flying back in the morning, and pick up Roman who arrived in the morning from Pilsen and Radmila, a journalist from Sofia. There follows a night-time rallye to Bela Rechka on winding and bumpy mountain roads. We arrive after midnight. Diana has been expecting us, with dinner, an open fire and rakija, also known as loza. We discuss how the Cyrillic alphabet is viewed in the countries through which we have already travelled. Diana said that everybody in Bulgaria knows Cyril and Methodius, that they’re almost a cliché. In retrospect, when comparing the various relationships people have to the alphabet, the role of Cyril and Methodius, and the political situation, history and future of various Balkan countries