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In the Hanchuka Forest, 4km southwest of Golden Sands, dozens of cells and chambers hewn into a cliff comprise what remains of Aladzha Monastery (Tues-Sun 9am-5pm). The caves to the west were occupied during the Stone Age by people whom Strabo called "pygmies", and served as a place of refuge during the Dark Ages. A Christian church may have existed here as early as the fifth century, though the monastery itself was probably established during the thirteenth century, in the same way as the Ivanovo rock monasteries. Aladzha's monks were hesychasts , striving to attain union with God by maintaining physical immobility and total silence. However, they did get round to painting several exquisite murals in the chapels, which can be seen at the end of the first and second galleries. Nowadays they're scrappy and faded, although in olden times they were sufficiently impressive to earn the monastery its name - Aladzha means "multi-coloured" in Turkish. A museum at the entrance displays models of how the monastery used to look when occupied, alongside ornaments, weapons and other artefacts dating from around 5000 BC, discovered in a Chalcolithic necropolis on the western outskirts of Varna in 1972. You might enjoy poking around the various catacombs and surrounding woods - the latter a place of many legends . Its mythical guardian, Rim Papa, is said to awake from a cotton-lined burrow every year to ask whether the trees still grow and women and cows still give birth, and go back to sleep upon being answered in the affirmative. The best way to get to the monastey is to walk from Golden Sands: it's about 3km uphill from the resort (signed from the crossroads near the main administration building), along an asphalt road - not too unpleasant providing you avoid the midday heat.
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