Harman Kaya

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 royal thrones. Similar to other sites in the Balkans (such as Kokino in North Macedonia), the place served as an ancient sun and star observatory, oriented toward solar events—namely the equinoxes, and the shortest and longest days of the year. The ancient Thracians practiced sun worship and were likely engaged in star-gazing as well.

harman kaya plaza Bulgaria

harman kaya observatory Bulgaria

harman kaya basin Bulgaria

In addition to the plazas (one elliptical, 10 meters in diameter, and the other circular, 15 meters in diameter), there is a cult cave, apparently symbolizing the womb of the earth. Also present are cliffs with trapezoidal niches carved into them, rock altars, stones, and shaped rock formations. It is a magical site that was a focus of human worship from the 5th millennium BC until the 2nd century AD, and today it is used by followers of the New Age movement in Bulgaria to celebrate the shortest and longest days of the year.

In front of the hill stands a significant Sufi monastery (tekke) of the Bektashi order and the Turkish Alevi movement, built in honor of the saint Elmali Baba. The road to the megalithic site of Herman Kaya begins at the gate of the tekke.