Discover the orthodox world by living in it

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About Tour

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We will visit many monasteries, some of them not so well- known, but each of them having something interesting to show. We will see new and old churches/monasteries, we will see that life and tradition didn’t change here since many centuries, that even now the life is almost the same as 1000 years ago. You will overnight in monasteries, you will eat with the nuns and monks, you will talk to them, you can ask any questions you want, and so, by living, hearing, seeing you will understand a little bit of the beauty of the orthodox world, and enjoy living simple, eating well and healthy, and also relaxing your body and soul from the stressful life. It will be NOT an excursion, it will be an EXPERIENCE. May be not so impressive from art and history point of view, but for sure extremely impressive from the experience we will have interacting with local people and people from these monasteries.

Despite the fact that 50 years of hard communism destroyed some of the Romanian churches and monasteries, the fact that Ceausescu in the 80’s had a strong campaign against the church and everything related to it, many of them survived in good or worse conditions and many have been reopened after 1990.

1 ^st Day

Arrival

Included highlights:

Arrival in Iasi
Direct transfer to Neamt area,
Dinner and accommodation either at Varatec convent (nun) or Neamt monastery (monk).

Included meals:

Dinner

2 ^nd Day

Between monasteries

Included highlights:

Neamt area is one of the most important monasteries/orthodox region in Romania, if not THE MOST IMPORTANT. The jewels of the crown are two monasteries. One is Neamt monastery, to which all important leaders of the Romanian ortodox are linked. The next jewel is AGAPIA and VARATEC, two sister monasteries, convents, having together almost 1000 nunes. You will see what they do in their workshops, how they live and learn about their belief.

The Varatec Convent
The Agapia Convent
The Neamt Monastery
The Sihla Monastery
The Sihastria Monastery
The Secu Monastery
Free lunch
Dinner with some of the high ranked people in the monastery

Included meals:

Breakfast
Dinner

3 ^rd Day

Bucovinean Monasteries

Included highlights:

Voronet Monastery, said to be the most impressive of them all, as it displays a special colour, the Voronet blue, which is considered an original one, next to Tiziano’s red and Veronese’s green
Humor Monastery, renowned for the unique, colourful exterior frescoes on the walls
Free lunch
Dinner with the nun abbot of Vorona Monastery
Overnight in a new monastery, Vorona. The experiences you will have, and the interesting discusions with the nun abbot in Vorona will be one of the highlights of the trip.

Included meals:

Breakfast
Dinner

4 ^th Day

Discover the monasteries in Iasi region

Included highlights:

Visit Probota Church
Visit Miclauseni Monastery
Lunch at the Micleuseni Monastery with the nun abbot
Visit Vladiceni monastery
Discover a small Neo-Gothic castle, built by one of the most important noble families in Eastern Romania, Strudza. The Castle was the summer residence of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, famous for unifying two Romanian provinces: Wallachia and Moldavia under the name of Romania.
Dinner and accommodation.

Included meals:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

5 ^th Day

Exploring Iasi

Included highlights:

City Tour of Iasi, the most important historical, economic,and cultural center in Northeast Romania
The Metropolitan Cathedral,
Culture Palace,
The Three Holy Hierarchs Monastery, unique architectural masterpiece
Same accommodation
Enjoy blessed meal at farewell dinner with the abbot in the monastery of Vladiceni
Surprise!! We will have the opportunity to hear Byzantine Church music sang by a student’s choir from the Theological University of Iasi.

Optional highlights:

Visit of a monastery next to Iasi.

Included meals:

Breakfast
Dinner

6 ^th Day

Departure home

Included highlights:

Departure home

Included meals:

Breakfast

What People Say

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During my recent holiday to Moldova, I was lucky enough to have Miss Victoria Odobescu as a guide and driver on two occasions. One day we went to Orheiul Vechi, and another to Soroca, the XV fort guarding the Dnistre river crossing. Miss Odobescu speaks very good colloquial English, her range is wide and is a confident and safe driver. Victoria, was exceptionally well-informed about the history, culture, and people of Moldova. In addition, she was very sensitive to my needs and wants. I highly recommend the services provided by Victoria Odobescu. I am sure she will have success in her career in Tourism.

Hello Victoria! You are a great guide and the Republic of Moldova is a great country.

Your knowledge, enthusiasm and thoroughness were very impressive; for anyone planning a holiday to Moldova, or neighbouring Romania & Ukraine (all very interesting countries) this is the tour guide to go with.

Dear Victoria!

There are not enough adjectives in the world to describe adeguately the experience of doing a visit with you! You certainly have enhanced my appreciation of your country. I learnt a lot from you on many different levels. Your organizational skills are extraordinary and Explore will definitely receive extremely positive feedback. We were very lucky to have you with us during this short trip.

Thank you once again for all you did so beautifully with grace, humor and smile. I wish you all and only the very best for now and for the future.