Sacred paths of Bulgaria

Until a few years ago, the prevailing talk around the table topics were politics, sports, the movies, and so on. Today, the most popular issue in many homes is traveling in the world; where did the participants travel to? Which [...]

The first modern humans in Europe arrived about 40,000 years ago and were known as Cro-Magnon. They looked like us, had developed communication skills (language), art, abstract thinking ability and developed religiosity. They believed in life after death, world of [...]

Maria Gimbutas argued that the original peaceful inhabitants of Neolithic Europe were conquered, and their villages destroyed by Indo-European horse riders who came from the Eurasia steppes starting from the 3rd millennium BC, "History shows us that between 8-10 million [...]

The heart of Bulgaria is the Thracian plain, trapped between the Balkan Mountain range to the north and the Rhodope Mountains to the south. It was one of the most important granaries of the Roman Empire, a rich agricultural area [...]

The territories of Bulgaria became part of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC. The Romans conquered all parts of the Mediterranean ancient world and large parts of Europe (a quarter of the world's population). They conquered the Balkans [...]

When Christianity began to spread in the world, it did not have an orderly hierarchical structure, and each group of believers created its own leadership. Christianity was pluralistic and democratic when the common denominator among its people was faith, spirituality [...]

“Slavic” means "word" in the ancient Slavic language, and hence the "Slavs" are people speaking the same language, as opposed to foreigners who are called "people without a language". Today there are close to 300 million Slavs in the world, [...]

In 852 AD, Khan Boris comes to power in the new Bulgarian kingdom. These were days of change in Byzantium, which managed to end the civil war and embark on a new path of prosperity and expansion under the leadership [...]

Bulgaria was under brutal Byzantine occupation for nearly 200 years, from the defeat of Tsar Samuel in 1014 to the rebellion of the Asen brothers in 1185. Samuel was one of the Cometopuli brothers - four Maccabee style brothers who [...]

In the 11th century, the Turkish tribes migrated to the Anatolian peninsula, defeated the Byzantines in the Battle of Manzikat (1071), and established small kingdoms throughout the country. In the 13th century, a small Turkish state led by Ottoman I [...]

The Bulgarians gained independence after a rebellion and a terrible war that took place in 1877–1878 between Russia, the Bulgarian rebels, and the Ottoman Empire. The beginning was a few years earlier, with the establishment of the movement for the [...]

The "agricultural revolution" is the name given to the process of transition from living in caves and in tribe that wander around the earth, to living in houses and villages. From relying on hunting and gathering, to relying on agriculture [...]

The Cro-Magnon man, who appeared in Europe 40,000 years ago, was religious in his understanding, perception, and actions. It is difficult to grasp this in a secular culture like ours, but belief in a power beyond us and in hidden [...]

Near Lake Varna is a nearly 7,000-year-old cemetery that is considered one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world. Worked metals of copper and gold, obsidian glass, ceramics, and jewelry representing an ancient prehistoric culture called the "Varna [...]

To the north of the Balkan Mountains, there is an area of sloping hills extending for about 100 km to the Danube River. In this area lived the Getae Thracians – Dacian tribes. One of their centers was the sacred [...]

Begliktash is a huge megalithic site near the Black Sea, considered the oldest megalithic site in Europe and one of the most impressive. The place was already sacred in prehistoric times, though some archaeologists claim it is “only” from the [...]

Near the city of Haskovo, in the heart of the Thracian plain, is a Thracian temple-tomb from the 4th century BC. It is a World Heritage Site due to the importance of the unique paintings found there, among them a [...]

The Maritza River, which begins in the Rila Mountains, flows northeast and then southeast toward the Mediterranean Sea for 500 km. Along its course, it passes through fertile valleys where the main cities of Bulgaria are located, including Svilengrad, which [...]

Deaf Stones - (Gluhite Kamani)This is the easternmost megalithic site in the Rhodope Mountains, and one of the most beautiful among them, known as “The Deaf Stones.” It features hundreds of trapezoidal niches engraved and carved into giant rocks tens [...]

Dolni Glavanak Stone CircleIn the Eastern Rhodope region, within the drainage basin of the Arda River, lies the only free-standing stone circle discovered so far in Bulgaria. One of the defining characteristics of megalithic cultures across the world is the [...]

About 20 km from the city of Kardzhali lies one of the most mysterious sites in the Rhodope Mountains—a place considered to be the tomb of Orpheus: an ancient, giant megalith that resembles a human head when viewed from the [...]

Not far from Tatul, near the village of Raven, on top of a high rocky saddle surrounded by forests, lies another ancient and mysterious megalithic complex. Here, you can find two sunken rocky plazas with carved grooves, surrounded by stones and [...]

Yagodina and Trigrad CanyonsIn the Rhodope Mountains, there are several mighty canyons with caves, flowing water, waterfalls, and rock walls that are a paradise for mountaineers. Yagodina is one of the most beautiful of them all—an impressive canyon where the [...]

Goat Rock (Kozia Kamak)When you travel west from Lake Dospat, to the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, you reach an area of beautiful villages built of slate stones, in a traditional style that has not changed since the 19th century. [...]

Gradishte Thracian Sanctuary In the western Rhodope Mountains, there are several megalithic sites hidden among the extensive fir forests, and most of them share a common characteristic: they consist of groups of huge upright rocks rising tens of meters high, [...]

The Seven Lakes make up one of the most beautiful and well-known sites in the Rila Mountains. These are seven alpine lakes, situated at altitudes ranging from 2,100 to 2,500 meters, connected by streams and meadows. It is an area [...]

Dunov claimed that in the Rila Mountains there is an energetic triangle, whose vertices are the Seven Lakes on one side, Musala Mountain on the other, and the Rila Monastery as the third vertex. Rila Monastery will be detailed in [...]

Belogradchik is an area of mysterious sandstone hills in northwestern Bulgaria, covering several hundred square kilometers and somewhat reminiscent of Cappadocia. At the heart of the area lies the town of Belogradchik, and at its center stands an ancient citadel [...]

Eyes of God (Prohodna)"Eyes of God" is the name given to the passage cave of Prohodna, which is also a prehistoric site located about 500 meters from the banks of the Iskar River. It is a cave with two openings [...]

This is the largest Thracian tomb-temple and one of the most beautiful ever discovered. It is located on top of a hill in the heart of a wooded natural area, 50 km north of Plovdiv on the edge of the [...]

The most famous tomb-temple in the Valley of the Thracian Kings is that of King Seuthes III, located near the village of Shipka and known as Kosmatka. The site remained sealed for 2,300 years and was discovered by Bulgarian archaeologist [...]

Valley of the Kings – Kazanlak To the north of the city of Kazanlak, hundreds of monumental Thracian tomb-temples were discovered, shaped as large round burial mounds. These include remarkable paintings, gold treasures, and monumental architecture. The valley, also known [...]

10 km south of Kazanlak, in the foothills of the Sredna Gora Mountains, on a hill bordering the valley, there is a gate built of massive stones, inside of which there is an opening through which sunlight shines on the [...]

In the east of the Balkan Mountains lies the town of Sliven, which was a center of rebels against the Ottomans — the local Hayduks who found refuge in the mountains and the blue rocks above it. Today, there is [...]

Stara Zagora is an ancient and large City in Bulgarian terms (140,000 people) located in the north-east of the Thracian plain. Neolithic villages were discovered near it, the most important of which is Karanovo. The fertile plain was the center [...]

The center of the Rhodope Mountains is a beautiful and wooded area, high mountains cut by deep canyons, where the largest fir forests in the Balkans exist, hundreds of bears, and some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe are [...]

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, home to nearly half a million people. It is located in an excellent position in the heart of the fertile Thracian plain and serves as a center of industry, culture, and art. The [...]

North of the Rila Mountains, not far from the Seven Lakes, is the Citadel Museum of Tsari Mali Grad. It is a large complex that has been adapted for tourism, including an ancient church, a rope park, museum rooms, and [...]

Twenty minutes’ drive from Tsari Mali Grad is the city of Samokov, which is the historical capital of the region north of the Rila Mountains. Samokov is not far from the Borovets ski resort, in the center of a fertile [...]

The valley of Kostenets is located on the eastern side of the Rila Mountains, not far from the ski resort of Borovets. In contrast to the valley of Malovitsa on the western side of the resort, this valley is not [...]

In 986, one of the most influential battles in world history took place—the Battle of Trajan’s Gates—in a mountain pass 60 km from Sofia on the road to Plovdiv. The battle was between the forces of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel [...]

Iskar River is one of the longest rivers in Bulgaria. The river starts in the area of Musala Mountain in the Rila Mountains, and unlike most other rivers in Bulgaria, it flows north—there is no other river in the country [...]

It is the third most important and largest monastery in Bulgaria, and the spiritual center of the regions north of the Balkan Mountains. It replaced, to some extent, the religious centers of Arbanasi and Veliko Tarnovo—which are not far away—and [...]

The largest city in the eastern part of the Rose Valley is Karlovo, with a population of 30,000. Like Kalofer, Karlovo was also established during the Ottoman period and was rebuilt in the 19th century. But unlike nearby Kalofer, its [...]

Kalofer is a town of 3,500 people located near the highest part of the Balkan Mountain Range and Park, in the middle of the Rose Valley. Today it is a sleepy town, but at the end of the 19th century [...]

Not far from Veliko Tarnovo, at the beginning of the road leading to the Šhipka Pass—one of the most important mountain passes in the Balkans—is the Dryanovo Monastery. This beautiful monastery lies on the banks of a river, in one [...]

Veliko Tarnovo is an ancient city located on a naturally fortified hill in one of the bends of the Yantra River, north of the Balkan Mountains. It rose to prominence in the Middle Ages when it served as the capital [...]

The Iskar River is the largest river that joins the Danube in Bulgaria. It is also the only river that crosses the Balkan Mountains; therefore, along it passed the historical road from the areas north of the empire (Romania and [...]

The City of Nikopol is an hour's drive east of Oescus, and is one of the oldest and most important cities along the River. Human settlement in it began already in prehistoric times. In the Roman period, a village existed [...]

If you continue with the Danube to the east, around 50 kilometers, you will reach the city of Svishtov, which is a regional center, an important port, and a crossing point (ferry) on the Danube to Romania. It is the [...]

From Svishtov, it is a little more than an hour's drive to Ruse. It is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria (150,000 people), after Plovdiv, Sofia, Burgas, and Varna, and is an important port on the Danube and a gateway [...]

Rusenski Lom Park is an area of spectacular cliffs along the River Lom, which is a tributary of the Danube, not far from the city of Ruse. The area was a favorite of monks who practiced the Hesychasm tradition during [...]

Silistra is the northeastern most city on the Danube, part of the Dobruja region—an important historical city with about 40,000 people. In the past, there was a Roman city called Dorostrum, from which several monuments remain, especially an impressive Roman [...]

In the middle of the plains north of the mountains is the archaeological site of Pliska, which was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire until the time of Simeon I (late 9th century), who moved the capital to Preslav. [...]

Halfway between Pliska and Preslav is the city of Shumen, where nearly 100,000 residents live. The word "Shumen" means a grove, and indeed the city is in the heart of wooded hills north of the Balkan Mountains. In the heart [...]

Preslav is in a beautiful location at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. The city was chosen to be the capital of Bulgaria at the end of the 9th century by the greatest Bulgarian Tsar, Simeon I, instead of the [...]

The first to build the city of Plovdiv was Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, who conquered ancient Thrace and brought Hellenic culture to the region. He named the city after himself—Philipopolis. During the Roman period, Plovdiv became the [...]

Much has already been written and said about the beauty and uniqueness of the Rhodope Mountains, and about the impressive Thracian and megalithic sites. In addition to them, there are several important sites related to the Christian Bulgaria route, the [...]

The cross on which Jesus was crucified is considered one of the most important holy relics in Christianity—an object believed to produce miracles. Over the years it was lost, but according to Bulgarian tradition, part of it is buried near [...]

Melnik and Rozhen Monastery Melnik is the smallest town in Bulgaria, housing only a few hundred people, but it is one of the most beautiful. It turns out that the title of "town" in Bulgaria is given to places of [...]

In the valley of the Struma River, which connects Thessaloniki with Sofia, runs the main road into the Balkans. Along it are several charming towns and cities, one of the most beautiful among them being the city of Sandanski, famous [...]

Bansko is the most important ski and tourist center in Bulgaria, featuring dozens of hotels, music festivals, and a variety of attractions. Few vacationers know that Bansko was once a center of Bulgarian nationalism and Christianity. In the 18th and [...]