During the centuries the natural fortification provided by the rocks was used for a military installation by whoever happened to be in power. The nearby town now finds itself in what is Europe's poorest and least developed region, but it does have good potential for tourism. The legends of the rocks will only help.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
Through the centuries, Bulgaria has changed the location of its capital city at least a dozen times. From Pliska and Preslav in the early years through Veliko Tarnovo in the Middle Ages Bulgaria's kings have ruled from various towns and cities not all of which are now in today's Bulgaria. In fact the place whence Bulgaria was ruled for the longest period of time, about 500 years, is currently a major megapolis with over 18 million people living in it. It is still referred to in Bulgaria as "Royal City."
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High hills were deemed a particularly appropriate location as they used both Socialist Realism and the power of nature to assert the invincible authority of the Party and the working classes. Communism in Bulgaria has gone away 30 years ago, but its hilltop monuments survive. Some are in a decrepit condition as they have been abandoned, but some are still lovingly been tended to by local authorities that claim their "artistic" and "historical" value absolves them of the sins of the system that produced them.
A few yards from the muddy waters a small village house stands. This is where Vanga, the blind clairvoyant and one of Bulgaria's best-known 20th century phenomena, used to live. She died in the 1990s, but Bulgarians continue to quote predictions she may or not have made about anything from football to the sinking of Russian submarines and US presidents, among many others. The area is now widely considered to be one of Bulgaria's top vortexes. One of its telltale signs is the flock of helmeted guineafowls roaming about.
He discovered he could find virtually no information relating to it. In fact, he could find a lot more about the Nile's journey through Africa than he could about this river's meanders through southeastern Europe. Yet, this is one of the greatest rivers in Europe, the only one that flows through the continent west to east before it gushes out to sea forming a huge delta. Spanning for about 2,000 miles and going through half-a-dozen countries the river is impregnated with history, culture and nature.
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Often, they can be visited without any restrictions. But Bulgaria has another type of military installations that predate the Warsaw Pact barracks and border outposts. Remember: before becoming the most loyal satellite of the USSR this country was a Nazi ally. Along the whole of the Black Sea coast there is at least a dozen of German bunkers, facing east, and still standing where the German engineers and troops erected them at the beginning of the Second World War.
But behind the trinket souvenir stands and the overpriced tavernas it holds many centuries of history, a charming old town and perhaps the biggest concentration of medieval churches in Bulgaria. All are situated on an erstwhile island, which is now connected to the mainland by a causeway, and have rightfully gained the location an UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
Every Bulgarian knows it used to be the capital of the medieval kingdom of the Bulgarians just before the Ottomans invaded, in the late 14th century. It is now the home to a large university, many cafés and restaurants, and a reconstructed fortress commanding stupendous views for miles around.
It was in fact paid for by a Turk who bought out hay from the locals only to sell it back to them at a significant profit. Being Muslim, he commissioned the bridge to be built entirely in the Ottoman tradition, with red and yellow decorative stripes, spawning the moniker Colourful Bridge.
The lions came around the turn of the 20th century when the bridge was rebuilt with significant modifications. It is now one of the symbols of the city it is in.
Held every year on the same date, 3 June, in a village deep in the Strandzha in southeastern Bulgaria, the walking-on-fire is the culmination of several weeks of preparations accompanied by minor and major performances by locals in what is a characteristic amalgamation of Christian and pagan rites.
Some folk-themed entertainment venues in Bulgaria put up commercial shows meant strictly for tourists, but the real thing happens once a year, in one particular village.
Those with an interest in cultural heritage and history will inevitably relate it to its multitude of ancient monuments related to the Thracians, ancient tribes who lived in these lands before the Bulgarian state was founded in the 7th century. The Thracians were skilful goldsmiths who famously drank their wine undiluted. They provide another moniker for the location, Valley of the Thracian Kings.
It has been immortalised in various works of fiction by US writers including John Updike and Elizabeth Kostova. Yet few people have ventured to spend a night within its sturdy confines, and even fewer have attended some of the major religious high days' rites the monks conduct with unparalleled enthusiasm and solemnity. The Orthodox Easter midnight mass wins hands down amongst those.
Your only company will likely be the seagulls hovering above your head. With several dozen mainly Byzantine churches, this town, a few miles south of a notorious Black Sea resort, is a major site rightfully inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage list. If you are lucky, you might be able to experience some very rare snow, which usually does not stay for more than a day or two.
Located in the Thracian Plain just outside Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, it is hidden in a huge mound where the digs are still ongoing. Despite the media frenzy and speculations that the enormous structure emerging from the ground is anything from the tomb of a Roman emperor to the deed of extraterrestrials, no one actually knows what this really is.
One is the area around this small town whose bizarre-looking rocks have been used as a natural fortification for centuries. Nineteenth century travellers marvelled at it, and generations of locals devised fairy tales about the strange rocks. Exploring them will strain both your legs and your imagination.
A tiny church is perched on a steep rock overlooking the narrow gorge of the Chepelarska River. A winding road leads up to the height, where the remains of the castle are, a brick-and-mortar confection in the Byzantine style popular across the Balkans in the 12th-14th centuries. Today, the nearby town is famous mostly for its numerous shops selling affordable wedding and prom gowns, but the tourists come solely for the fortress before venturing deeper into the Rhodope.
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Communism collapsed in 1989, however, and since then the grounded man-made UFO has ran to seed. Neither the heirs to the Communists, nor the Bulgarian state have taken any care of it and the building, or whatever remains of it, is now in severe danger of collapsing. Significantly, the J. Paul Getty Foundation in the United States recently granted funding to survey the monument and possibly conserve it.
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It has several millennia of history, but some of the most fascinating locations to visit date only to the 19th century. Situated on three hills and collectively referred to as the Old Town, these fabulous mansions and residences belonging to well-to-do citizens of many faiths and nationalities are among the best preserved examples of Ottoman architecture and lifestyle in the world.
It has several millennia of history, but some of the most fascinating locations to visit date only to the 19th century. Situated on three hills and collectively referred to as the Old Town, these fabulous mansions and residences belonging to well-to-do citizens of many faiths and nationalities are among the best preserved examples of Ottoman architecture and lifestyle in the world.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
They have probably visited the sanctuaries at Begliktash by the Black Sea and Belintash in the Rhodope. Tatul, the supposed resting place of Orpheus, is probably high on their list. Yet there is another ancient sanctuary-cum-tomb, as – if not more – evocative than Tatul but far less explored, mainly because it is off the beaten track.
Perched on top of a hill, it commands stupendous views to the nearby hills and waters, and holds a number of mysteries that will set your imagination in motion for weeks on end.
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