St. Kirik and Yulita Monastery
The monastery is situated above Assenovgrad in the northern slopes of the Rhodopes, in a wonderful broad-leaved forest, from which you can see the whole Thracian Lowland. Although it is not as significant as the Bachkovo Monastery, St. Kirik and Yulita is the biggest monastery in the Rhodopi Mountain. There is no information about its originating, but this is one of the thirty monasteries that were destroyed and burnt down by the Turks in 1666. It was destroyed again in 1810, and rebuilt in 1819. The monastery has beautiful wooden staircases leading up to imposing verandahs. The separate buildings surround the big yard completely, and the church is in the center of the yard. The church is well-preserved, and its icons date back from 1836-1878, most of them painted by Zahari Zograf.