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Southern Bulgaria © Lonely Planet Publications 113 Southern Bulgaria With spectacular and infinitely varied nature just waiting to be explored, and some of Bul- garia’s greatest spiritual and cultural attractions, the south is a truly fascinating region that SOUTHERN BULGARIA should be placed high on the itinerary of every traveller. From the stunning Rila Monastery and the fabled Seven Rila Lakes, strung out like jewels in the mountains beyond it, to the dynamic cultural capital of Plovdiv, southern Bulgaria offers something for everyone. Its striking landscapes range from the sandstone ‘pyramids’ of Melnik, where you can sample the country’s best wine in splendid serenity, to the rugged Pirin Mountains and the gentler Rodopi range, together home of Bulgaria’s best ski resorts. The legacy of southern Bulgaria’s colourful and complex history of ancient civilisations – from the mysterious Thracians and the Macedonians to Romans, Slavs, Byzantines and Turks – is also abundantly evident, in Plovdiv’s grand Roman amphitheatre, the enthralling medieval monastery of Bachkovo, numerous Ottoman mosques and other sites attesting to a glorious past. HIGHLIGHTS Hit the powder Ski Bansko ( p127 ) and Borovets ( p120 ), Bulgaria’s baddest winter resorts Liquid pleasure Sample Bulgaria’s best wine beneath sandstone cliffs in little Melnik ( p134 ) Get some action Dive in to Plovdiv’s Bohemian old town and Rila Borovets Monastery Plovdiv partake in its vibrant nightlife ( p138 ) Bachkovo Bansko Monastery Marvel and repent Devin Melnik Make a pilgrimage to the spellbinding monasteries of Rila ( p117 ) and Bachkovo ( p153 ), and consider their vivid frescoes of eternal damnation Indolent enjoyment Cleanse yourself with the spa waters and massage therapies of the Devin spa resort ( p160 ), deep in the rolling Rodopi Mountains 114 SOUTHERN BULGARIA •• History lonelyplanet.com SOUTHERN BULGARIA Kalotina S t NORTHERN a BULGARIA r a Teteven Troyan Slivnitsa Botevgrad P l Novi Iskâr a n CENTRAL Strezimirovtsi i n a BULGARIA Breznik SOFIA Pirdop Karlovo Vitosha Pernik Nature Park Mt Cherni S Hisar Vrâh Panagyurishte r e (Hisarya) Zemen Lake d n SERBIA (2290m) Iskâr a Ihtiman See Rila Mountains Map (p116) Samokov Klisura Kostenets Dupnitsa Sapareva Borovets Kyustendil Banya Govedartsi Septemvri Gyueshovo Malîovitsa u n Sedemte Ezera M o t a i Pazardzhik a n s Kriva (Seven Lakes) i l Palanka R Mt Musala Rila Rila (2925m) SOUTHERN BULGARIA Monastery Plovdiv Stanke Velingrad Peshtera Lisichkovo Blagoevgrad Avramovo Batak Hrabrino Hizha Lake Delcevo Rakitovo T H R Predel A C E Razlog Batak P R i Hizha r Dobrinishte o i Bansko d Teheran Hizha n o p Igrev Hizha Vihren Hizha Banderitsa i Stip Berovo Kukuvistsa Popina Lûka Mt Vihren Devin Chepelare MACEDONIA (2915m) Shiroka Lûka Hizha Yane M Kovachevitsa Borino Pamporovo Sandanski Dospat Devil's o Throat Momchilovtsi Hizha u Yagodina Smolyan Kamenitsa Marchevo Hizha n Trigrad Perelik Lakes Sandanski t Mt Golyan Rozhen a Gotse Smolyan Perelik (2190m) Monastery i Delchev Melnik n Uhlovitsa Strumica Petrovo s Mogilitsa Zlatarevo Petrich Kulata GREECE Drama Serres HISTORY Today’s ‘Bulgarian Thrace’ – the sec- The vastness of southern Bulgaria and its tion between the Sredna Gora Mountains, mountainous geography have graced it with the Rodopi Mountains and the Black Sea great historical diversity. It was the stomping coast – was the birthplace of the legendary ground of the ancient Thracians, an enigmatic, Spartacus, the slave leader, and Orpheus, warlike group of tribes that left no written the tragic, semimythical inventor of music. records in their own language, but once dom- Some two-thirds of the historical Thrace lie inated large parts of modern-day Bulgaria, in Bulgaria, with Greek and Turkey split- northeastern Greece and today’s European ting the remainder. Although the Thracians Turkey. Thracian customs and beliefs have have long died out, there is a certain proud, been passed down to us in Greek, and indeed earthy toughness common to the differing their mystery religion, which found its su- inhabitants of these three parts of Thrace that preme expression at the Temple of the Great might, just perhaps, express the spirit of that Gods on the Greek island of Samothraki, influ- long-lost civilisation. enced antique religion, attracting initiates even In the deep south of Bulgaria, the sparsely from Macedonian and Egyptian royalty. populated Rodopi Mountains, dotted with .
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