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Mystical Bulgaria
Mystical Bulgaria
PERPERIKON
Perperikon is one of the most famous and visited sights in Bulgaria. Excavations here are still ongoing. We arrive early - before the scorching heat. Yes, and it gets dark early in the mountains, but we still need to make it to a couple of places. We leave the car in a paid parking lot for one lev. Here you will immediately be offered the services of a guide and buy souvenirs. Yes, be sure to take water with you: the climb is quite tiring and you will want to drink, and on the spot they sell water for twice as much. Then you will need to pay, in fact, a visit to Perperikon - it will cost 6 leva.
We rise and see the fenced areas - there are excavations. They say there was a temple of Dionysus - the god of wine and fun. Orpheus, the son of a god and a muse, allegedly lived in this rock city. There are many versions of what Orpheus died from, as well as assumptions about where his grave is located.
Also, at least two fateful prophecies were uttered here - about Gaius Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great - that they would become great rulers.
We will wander among the picturesque ancient historical ruins. There are a lot of fragments, fragments, shards, some stone circles with holes, millstones around. A large stone with what looked like a bathtub hollowed out, perhaps to collect rainwater.
Although the time was: Perperikon is several thousand years old. Generations, eras, rulers changed. The city was captured by the Thracians, Romans, Byzantines. Perperikon stood. But the Turks came and destroyed it so much that there was nothing to restore.
Yes, there really is some incredible atmosphere, its own unique energy. If you are in Bulgaria - find the strength and time, climb here, wander around Perperikon.
The rise is false, but this does not scare away tourists even with small children. Benches have been set up along the way for those who are tired. Going down, of course, is easier.
Mountains are always grandiose, beautiful and impressive.
DEVIL'S BRIDGE
I don’t know if it’s always so beautiful in Bulgaria in August, but I was very lucky with the weather, and the sky is incredible. The next two points are diabolical. The first will be a bridge near the town of Ardino. On the way to it you will see a small replica of the bridge. Continue following the signs. If you have lost your way, ask for directions, any local will tell you. Just remember: if a Bulgarian says “Right”, then he means “Right” - this is how this word is translated into Russian.
If you have a car like an SUV, then in the summer in good weather you can easily get to the very bridge, but in winter or in the rain it is better not to risk it. The places are picturesque, but it suddenly occurred to me that at night, perhaps, I would not want to be here.
And here is the bridge itself. There are several legends associated with the Devil's Bridge. One of them says that there is a stone with a footprint of the devil. We honestly searched, but did not find. Maybe that's for the best.
Another legend tells that the builder of the bridge walled up the shadow of his beloved in it, which allows the structure to stand still for 500 years. But the girl died because of this.
Another legend says that the builders tried to build a crossing here for a long time, but it was constantly destroyed. Satan suddenly appeared to the desperate master and promised that everything would work out if the man created the image of the devil, which should be visible and invisible, tangible and intangible. The master did it. At certain times of the day, the devil can be seen here: his image is made up of a rock and above the water and its reflection.
The following legend is connected with reflection. During the Ottoman yoke, a Turkish rich man fell in love with a local girl. He ordered his servants to deliver the beauty to the harem. The girl resisted and tried to run away. On the bridge she screamed that she would throw herself down. The Turks were frightened, but not by her threats, but by what they saw in the water of the devil. They got scared and ran away.
The bridge is not included in the hundred sights of Bulgaria, but the guy at the checkout has a stamp and you can get confirmation of your stay here by putting a stamp in the book.
SMOLYAN
It was convenient for us to get to the devilish places from the town of Smolyan, which is also devilishly difficult to get to. And it's not even about the cows that refuse to give way to you. The whole road is a serpentine, the average speed is 40 km/h and was reduced to a minimum when there were 180-degree turns. And there were many. A driver who is not accustomed to such a terrain will find it especially difficult to navigate the forks. Helped Internet maps - they can be used offline.
In Smolyan, we visited perhaps the most authentic cafe. There are much fewer travelers here than in the recognized tourist centers of Bulgaria. It is difficult to get here, so everything is for your own, and the food here was perhaps the best, and the prices are low.
DEVIL'S THROAT
So, another amazing place in Bulgaria, shrouded in rumors and legends. In the Rhodope Mountains, in a very picturesque place, the Devil's Throat hid.
If you want to visit real mountains - come here. You can visit the cave not around the clock, but at a strictly allotted time. We were almost late: our group seemed to be the last one that day. We leave the car at the parking lot, park, pay and welcome to Devil's Throat.
A group of a couple of dozen people is led along a stone corridor. Ahead of the unknown, around dark and anxious. It is worth taking outerwear, as it is cool here, and non-slip shoes - it is wet here. Because there is a waterfall in the cave - the largest underground waterfall in the Balkans. This is the roaring hall. It is also called roaring and seething. Tourists take pictures, but it is not known what happens in these photos, as it is dark around
But, in fact, why the cave bears such a name? It looks like a huge throat through which a stream rushes. Remember Orpheus? He is directly related to this place. That's what the legends say. The ancients believed that it was in the cave "Devil's Throat" that the entrance to the kingdom of Hades was located. Orpheus really wanted to resurrect his beloved and persuaded Hades to let him go Eurydice. The ruler of the kingdom of the dead agreed to do this on the condition that Orpheus did not look back at the girl until he brought her to the surface. And everything seemed to be going well, the couple covered almost the entire path, but already at the exit, Orpheus stopped hearing Eurydice's steps. Still: with such a rumble! Well, look back ... Eurydice immediately returned to the kingdom of Hades. A small altar full of coins, here the inconsolable Orpheus mourned the final loss of Eurydice.
Getting out of the Devil's Throat is tiring: three hundred steep and very slippery steps are very difficult to breathe because of the high humidity. You have to stop in order to catch your breath. Having risen to the surface, you will see a wonderful picture: mountains, a waterfall - a complete feeling that you have climbed out of the kingdom of death towards life. Although this is exactly what the ancients associated with the devil and his throat.
As you can see, Bulgaria hides many miracles, well-known and not so well known. Many of them are filled with mysticism, intertwined with local legends and beliefs, as well as stories passed down from generation to generation.