THE ADIMENSIONAL BRIDGE OF BASARBOVO

-text and photos Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
design Florin Alexandru Stancu-

In 20 December 2014
I saw over the Mitropoly Hill in Bucharest
(where the Romanians had decided the union of Wallachia with Moldavia in 1859
and their total independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877)
spectacular images with the Sun among cirrocumulus clouds.

Since in the Patriarchal Church (made in the 17th century)
there are the relics of Saint Dumitru Basarabov (the spiritual patron of the city),
who had lived in Bulgaria,
I felt myself determined (like pushed by a celestial call)
to program a trip to the neighboring country for 30 May 2015,
to visit (not too far) his former place of existence:
a rock monastery near the Basarbovo village.

So that I left the Mitropoly Hill in Bucharest,
thinking of the close future…

Signals as bridges
Over the Danube River
And I floating among them
Filled with cosmic fever.

After the Bulgarian-Vlach Empire (1185-1256,
which, under Assen-Kaloyan Dynasty,
included Bulgaria, Wallachia, Moldova, Macedonia, Albania
and parts of Serbia, Greece and Turkey of today),
the connections between Romanians-Wallachs (north of Danube)
and Bulgarians plus Aromanians-Vlachs (south of Danube)
still remained very strong for a while.

Thus, the official founder of Wallachia in 1310,
Ioan (Ivanko in Bulgarian) Basarab had an estate in Bulgaria,
where he made a monastery which,
in the 17th century,
was supplementarily ennobled by the deeds of Saint Dimitar Basarbovski
(his name in Bulgarian),
whose relics were taken in the 18th century by a Russian officer
and moved to Bucharest,
to not be in danger to be stolen by Ottomans.

Today the Basarbovo Monastery appears as a spectacular ecclesiastic complex
with a fascinating evolution in time,
generously lit by sunlight.

So that, returned home in Bucharest after this special trip,
I thought to end with three other “astral” visits on the Mitropoly Hill,
this time during the evening time:

-for Venus and the Moon (2015-04-02);

-for Jupiter and the Moon (2016-04-18);

-and for the brightest star, Sirius (2015-04-16).