Besides its beaches and mountains, Bulgaria is rich in fascinating archeological and historical sites. VELINA NACHEVA and IVAN VATAHOV are your guides.
Treasures of the times
BULGARIANS rightly take pride in the country’s cultural heritage, and in its archeological sites, some which can be traced back to the times of Dionysus, Orpheus and the first worshippers of the sun.
Such sites are a drawcard for tourists, and also serve as venues for festivities and events featuring music and dance performances from all over the country.
In recent times, more than 100 000 visitors have come to see the excavations at Perperikon, a unique medieval monastery 22km north of Kurdjali, in southern Bulgaria, which was part of the famous town of Hyperperakion from the 10th to the 14th century. The chief excavator of the ancient monastery, Nikolai Ovcharov, said that the importance of Perperikon, with its ancient city and its Temple of Dionysus, to world history and culture, are comparable with the Acropolis and Delphi in Greece, Efes in Turkey and Pompei in Italy.
The week leading up to the June solstice has been chosen for the Perperikon Art Festival. Its last night, on June 22 - the shortest night of the year, a night of magic according to popular belief will be celebrated as part of the festival. The organisers’ idea is to make it a night of midsummer revelry under the starlit sky, with dance and music to celebrate a millennial tradition rooted in the ancient Dionysus.
At Perperikon, the ruins of the basilica are preserved a meter and a half underground, according to Ovcharov. Its floor is covered by a marble mosaic in the opus sectile style preserved in perfect condition. The Romans often paved the floors of their houses and public buildings in the same way. The small, coloured cubes of marble would have been cut with a knife, according to Ovcharov. The mosaics depicted various scenes, which formed part of the life cycle.
“We were aware that this mosaic existed in King Simeon’s reign but we have never come across remnants of it,” Ovcharov said.
The main basilica is surrounded by other rooms including a tomb-like church with a sarcophagus. The expedition discovered the remains of a Byzantium bishop in the sarcophagus.
It was in the sacred Thracian Palace of Perperikon, that Alexander the Great gained his faith to conquer the world. The palace and its fortress were the capital of the Odris Kingdom, the strongest state of the Thracians.
During the Byzantine Empire the region was a Christian fortress. The Monastery of Ioan Prodrome is a typical example. Archeologists have proved that it was the base of one of the most powerful Archbishops in Byzantine.
The Roman Empire and later the Crusades also were strong influences on the region of Kurdjali. For some time the region was the scene of struggles between Bulgarians, Romans and Byzantines. There is historical evidence that the famous battle between the Bulgarian king Kaloyan and Roman Emperor Baldwin took place somewhere in the eastern part of the mountains.
The festival in June aims to bridge the gap between different periods and traditions. With the advent of globalisation, the preservation of cultural diversity, an idea as exciting as it is relevant, finds its proper medium in theatre as the melting pot of various forms of artistic expression, ethnic traditions and ideologies. At the heart of the Balkans, on a crossroads between North and South, East and West, the Perperikon festival has been conceived and born as a celebration of European and Asian cultures, ancient and modern, in veneration of the past and in hope for the future.
The latest discoveries feature seven chambers in a new palace in the Perperikon acropolis.
The palace is in the centre of the acropolis which is situated at the top of Perperikon and served to protect the hilltop. It is one of four elements of the ancient city which also comprised a citadel, a palace-temple immediately beneath the acropolis and two outer cities, one on the northern and one on the southern slope of the hill.
Treasures of the times
BULGARIANS rightly take pride in the country’s cultural heritage, and in its archeological sites, some which can be traced back to the times of Dionysus, Orpheus and the first worshippers of the sun.
Such sites are a drawcard for tourists, and also serve as venues for festivities and events featuring music and dance performances from all over the country.
In recent times, more than 100 000 visitors have come to see the excavations at Perperikon, a unique medieval monastery 22km north of Kurdjali, in southern Bulgaria, which was part of the famous town of Hyperperakion from the 10th to the 14th century. The chief excavator of the ancient monastery, Nikolai Ovcharov, said that the importance of Perperikon, with its ancient city and its Temple of Dionysus, to world history and culture, are comparable with the Acropolis and Delphi in Greece, Efes in Turkey and Pompei in Italy.
The week leading up to the June solstice has been chosen for the Perperikon Art Festival. Its last night, on June 22 - the shortest night of the year, a night of magic according to popular belief will be celebrated as part of the festival. The organisers’ idea is to make it a night of midsummer revelry under the starlit sky, with dance and music to celebrate a millennial tradition rooted in the ancient Dionysus.
At Perperikon, the ruins of the basilica are preserved a meter and a half underground, according to Ovcharov. Its floor is covered by a marble mosaic in the opus sectile style preserved in perfect condition. The Romans often paved the floors of their houses and public buildings in the same way. The small, coloured cubes of marble would have been cut with a knife, according to Ovcharov. The mosaics depicted various scenes, which formed part of the life cycle.
“We were aware that this mosaic existed in King Simeon’s reign but we have never come across remnants of it,” Ovcharov said.
The main basilica is surrounded by other rooms including a tomb-like church with a sarcophagus. The expedition discovered the remains of a Byzantium bishop in the sarcophagus.
It was in the sacred Thracian Palace of Perperikon, that Alexander the Great gained his faith to conquer the world. The palace and its fortress were the capital of the Odris Kingdom, the strongest state of the Thracians.
During the Byzantine Empire the region was a Christian fortress. The Monastery of Ioan Prodrome is a typical example. Archeologists have proved that it was the base of one of the most powerful Archbishops in Byzantine.
The Roman Empire and later the Crusades also were strong influences on the region of Kurdjali. For some time the region was the scene of struggles between Bulgarians, Romans and Byzantines. There is historical evidence that the famous battle between the Bulgarian king Kaloyan and Roman Emperor Baldwin took place somewhere in the eastern part of the mountains.
The festival in June aims to bridge the gap between different periods and traditions. With the advent of globalisation, the preservation of cultural diversity, an idea as exciting as it is relevant, finds its proper medium in theatre as the melting pot of various forms of artistic expression, ethnic traditions and ideologies. At the heart of the Balkans, on a crossroads between North and South, East and West, the Perperikon festival has been conceived and born as a celebration of European and Asian cultures, ancient and modern, in veneration of the past and in hope for the future.
The latest discoveries feature seven chambers in a new palace in the Perperikon acropolis.
The palace is in the centre of the acropolis which is situated at the top of Perperikon and served to protect the hilltop. It is one of four elements of the ancient city which also comprised a citadel, a palace-temple immediately beneath the acropolis and two outer cities, one on the northern and one on the southern slope of the hill.
