Moldova's Ancient + Remote Orheiul Vechi Monastery

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Backpacking in Moldova: Visiting Orheiul Vechi Monastery

A lonely Northern Irishman out in the middle of nowhere on a mission to tour Orheiul Vechi in Moldova.

A morning goat in deepest Moldova.

A morning goat in deepest Moldova. On a drab dreary dark lonely Wednesday morning on a Moldovan November, I awoke in in Chisinau on a mission to visit Orheiul Vechi Monastery.

Moldovan wilderness at Orheiul Vechi.

Moldovan wilderness at Orheiul Vechi.

Place to grab a coffee or a 10am beer in Chisinau Moldova.

Place to grab a coffee or a 10am beer in Chisinau Moldova.

Where the bus dropped me off.

Where the bus drops you off.

Church (Ascension of St. Mary) — at the very top of the hill you will see the church which is dedicated to the Ascension of St. Mary. The church was predictably shut down by the Soviets in 1944 and remained abandoned throughout the communist regime. Services resumed in 1996, though it still looks abandoned. Archaeologists have uncovered remnants of a defence wall surrounding the monastery complex dating back to the 15th century.

Church in Orheiul Vechi.

Church in Orheiul Vechi – just knock on the door and they will let you in.

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Church on the lonely hill

Inside the church – there are great murals on the walls, something quite similar to the monasteries in Bucovina Romania.

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Cave Monastery — the highlight is the cave monastery. The below door is the entrance to Orheiul Vechi Cave Monastery.

The steps down to the cave monastery.

The steps down to the cave monastery.

orheiul cave monastery

In this cave I met Vasil who lives in Orheiul Vechi. The cave monastery looks like a man’s face in the rock side when viewed from afar.

The nose and face shape of the monastery.

The nose and face shape of the monastery. One of the rooms out the back has bats in it. It wasn’t clear to me what the room was originally used for, presumably shelters or sleeping quarters for religious people who came here.

The room with bats in it.

In the room with bats.

Vasil admiring the views.

Vasil admiring the views.  Admire the Views – the views of the countryside here are remote, inspiring and sublime.

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Moldovan wilderness at Orheiul Vechi.

Moldovan wilderness at Orheiul Vechi.

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Grave on the Hill — there is a curious stone cross tombstone – a grave on the hill. It makes for an eerie feeling seeing the world behind it and a breeze blowing by.

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Then, I headed down into the village of Butuceni. The cave monastery reminded me of Kandovan in Iran, Goreme in Turkey and Davit Gareja/ Uplistsikhe in Georgia.
 

 

 

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