The Sokolski Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery founded in 1833 and named after its founder Yosif Sokolski. It is located 15 km southwest of Gabrovo on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the Bulgarka Nature Park and is close to the Sokolovo cave.
Originally, a small wooden church was built in 1833 and the frescoes were finished a year later. Hristo Tsokev, a Gabrovo-born artist, donated the church icon, which represents the Virgin Mary and Christ and is considered to be miraculous. In 1862, Father Paul Zograf and his son Nikola from the village of Shipka decorated the church with frescoes.
The monastery has a big yard surrounded by residential and utility buildings. In the centre of the yard, in 1865 the master Kolyu Ficheto constructed a big stone fountain with eight taps. The whole monastery was built during the Bulgarian National Revival with the strong support of the people of Gabrovo and the local villages.
The monastery played an important role during the April Uprising. In this monastery, the leader Tsanko Dyustabanov formed a group of volunteers for the resistance. In a short period of time during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 the monastery was a hospital.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.