Kurdjali is located in the very heart of the Eastern Rhodopes, along the two banks of the Arda River, on both sides of which are the two big dams - Studen Kladenets Dam to the east and Kurdzhali Dam to the south. It is situated at the distance of 250 km, 100 km and 81 km south-east of Sofia, Plovdiv and Assenovgrad and is a regional administrative centre.

This place had been a settlement as early as 6 000 years ago. Prehistoric remains of human life as well as ample examples of the presence of Thracian, Roman and Byzantine culture have been found plus medieval Bulgarian and late-Ottoman remains. The first historical finds are associated with the Thracian tribe koelaleti, subdued by the Romans during 1st century. Then came the Slavic tribe of Smoleni. During the Middle Ages the settlement frequently shifted under Bulgarian or Byzanitine rule.
Bulgarian presence is proved by the unique 3-navel Bulgarian basilica found in Vesselchane Quarter of the town dated to the 11th - 12th century. This town quarter is heir of medieval Bulgarian town Munyak demonstrating an architectural style, similar to that of Preslav, Messemvria and Turnovo. In the 14th century the settlement was conquered by the Turks, and in 1379 it was populated by colonists from Asia Minor. In the middle of the 17th century the town was ruled by Kurdzhi Ali - a noted army leader. It is supposed that accepted the town was named after him. During the 18th century bloodthirsty kurdzhalii gangs (Turkish brigands), which ruined not one and two prospering Bulgarian villages, used to gather in the town. In January 1878 the Don Cossacks of General Chernobouzov liberated the town, which was to remain within the Eastern Rumelia part of the country, as agreed under the Berlin Treaty. In 1886 it is given to Turkey again as a compensation for the Union (1885). On 8th October 1912 the soldiers of colonel Delov’s regiment liberated the town for the second and last time.

The medieval fortress of Perperek is located in the valley of a small river, only 7 kilometres to the south-east of town (in the direction of Haskovo). This was the most powerful fortress in the Ahridos region, and during 13th - 14th century was an bishop’s and fortified Bulgarian town. The Turks met fierce resistance during their invasion of the country in the 14th century and this is why after conquering it, they slaughtered the greater part of the population, others took in slavery and the destroyed the fortress. It now stands in ruins. Only the hexagonal tower of carved stone is partially preserved. Remnans of the settlement are also preserved - they were owned by the bolyar Momchil.

Karlovo - the birthplace of the Apostle of Bulgarian Freedom
Situated in the heart of the Valley of Roses, Karlovo is famous as the birthplace of Bulgaria’s greatest national hero, Vassil Levski, the leader of the national revolutionary movement against Ottoman rule - the man who dreamed of and strived for “a pure and sacred republic”. And who perished for his ideal. The Turkish authorities put him on trial and sentenced him to death by hanging. It was in February 1873: five years before the Liberation.

His ideals
The Apostle of Bulgarian Freedom used to say: “If I win, the entire nation wins; if I lose, I lose only myself.” “To be equal to the other European nations depends on our own united strength.” “What more can I want when I see my homeland free? My predestination is for my homeland, is it not? Not to see myself in a high rank, but to die… “

Karlovo is a pretty town at the foot of the Balkan Mountains with some very good examples of typical Bulgarian revival architecture in its old part. The town originated on the banks of Stara Reka (Old River) as an administrative centre during the Ottoman domination of Bulgaria. It was called Karlovo after the name of the local Turkish feudal lord.

In the past Karlovo was a leading centre of craft production, braid weaving and rose distillery. It was called the factory town on account of the numerous furrieries and foundries.

Karlovo was famous for the taste and skill of its artisans, qualities which have made it the modern town with developed industry and eventful cultural life that it is today.

In late May and early June every year, the rose-picking season starts in the Valley of Roses. Karlovo turns into one of the centres of the Festival of Roses.

Kazanluk - the region of roses and Thracian rulers
The town of Kazanluk is located in the gorgeous Valley of Roses at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. The natural geographical centre of Bulgaria is just here where the roads of domestic and international tourist routes cross each other. The town is at about 200 km. east of Sofia, 55 km. east of Karlovo, 48 km. south of Gabrovo and 75 km. west of Sliven. The nature here is a perfect combination of the beauty and majesty of the Balkan Mountains and the fertility of the Tundja river valley.

Centre of rose-growing and rose-oil manufacturing
The climate and the soils are favourable for rose, peppermint, lavender, sweet basil and marigold growing. For centuries the fragrant Bulgarian rose has been grown there and the attar of roses has been extracted. So, the geographical centre of Bulgaria turned into its essential oils production centre. Since the 19th century Kazanlak has been the centre of Bulgarian rose-growing and rose-oil manufacturing. Many people from all over the world associate Bulgaria with the fragrant rose of Kazanluk.

The Thracian tomb of Kazanluk
What this pretty town, nestled at the foot of the mountains, is most famous for is the Thracian tomb of Kazanluk. The tomb was excavated in 1944 and is one of the 9 cultural and historical sites in Bulgaria included in the UNESCO list of historical and architectural monuments of global importance. Up to then, the burial mound had been considered a natural elevation of the ground.

The tomb is situated in a mound near the town of Kazanluk. It consists of a lobby, a corridor and a dome. The system of ornaments in the corridor is complex and extremely interesting. The walls are covered with shining, fine plaster and a beautiful fresco.

Pavel Banya spa resort
The hot mineral springs of the region (located in the town of Pavel Banya and in the villages of Ovoshtnik and Yagoda) make the region more attractive for many tourists from home and abroad.

Shipka Memorial Church
Only 12 km north of Kazanluk, near the small town of Shipka, is the Shipka Memorial Church. It was erected after Bulgaria’s Liberation from Turkish rule as a monument to both Russian and Bulgarian soldiers that died in the fierce battles here. The golden domes and the green and pink coloured facade loom against the mountains and attract the attention of the travellers in the Shipka Pass.

Shipka National Museum Park is founded on the same area where the bloody battles of the Russian - Turkish Liberation War occurred during the 1870s. It represents a complex of memorial tablets, monuments, trenches, and bunkers reminiscent of the

Kiten is a small town, situated 45 km south of Bourgas. It is only a few kilometers from Primorsko and MMC resorts. It was founded in 1931 by fugitives from Greece and immigrants from the surrounding villages. Since 1970, Kiten has been developing as an attractive centre for many tourists. Nowadays Kiten is a prosperous modern tourist village with a number of private lodgings, cosy hotels, restaurants, snack-bars, discos, and an amusement park with water slides and playgrounds. The north beach, called Atliman with a calm and clean sea is covered with fine golden sand

Koprivshtitsa - the museum town
Sunshine colours and romance are what characterise the typical 19th century atmosphere preserved and lingering in Koprivshtitsa. Every single house here is part of Bulgaria’s history. It was here that the first shot of the April Uprising against Ottoman rule rang out in 1876. Although drenched in blood, the uprising resounded in all of Europe. The Toromanov, Djogolanov and Buzel houses, the houses of Grandpa Liben, of writer Lyuben Karavelov and of revolutionary Georgi Benkovski (built in the first half of the 19th century) have two storeys with a stone ground floor and wooden top floor, with two rooms in each.

Two new important architectural elements were added - the salon on the ground floor and the verandas on the second. The salon was where the Koprivshtitsa dwellers received their guests, where they fostered their business and trade contacts, while the veranda formed a summer living room, complete with a small extended platform - the future balcony. The columns, consoles, fireplaces, hearths, wooden doors, windows and grids lack the purely decorative elements, which were to come later. Koprivshtitsa is the place where one can best trace the various stages of evolution in Bulgarian National Revival architecture

Around 1930-1950 the influence of the Plovdiv symmetric house put an end to the development of the “wooden house” in Koprivshtitsa, changing the nature of construction, as well as the interior. The houses dating from the second half of the 19th century are exquisite with their multi-coloured facades and sunny verandas, with their protruding eaves and recesses, carved ceiling and stylish European furniture.

The scheme comes close to that of the “Baroque” Plovdiv house - the centre is occupied by the increasingly larger and more representative salon, whose height had more than doubled by this time. The Koprivshtitsa houses never gained the scale of the Plovdiv ones, but then their aim was different - more intimate architectural compositions with dense colours and harmonious contrasts.

The result was carved decorative elements, colourful weaves, painted walls and niches in warm shades, depicting medallions, flowers, garlands and columns, complete with decorative frames. The Oslekov, Lyutov, Kableshkov, Madjarov, Stariradev and Kantarjiev houses are all fine examples of late National Revival architecture.

The town of Kotel is situated in a picturesque small valley in the eastern part of the Balkan Range, 527 m above sea level, 49 km northeast of Sliven. At the beginning of Ottoman Rule Kotel was inhabited by Bulgarians from neighbouring towns and villages in search of rescue. It is a native place of a number of eminent National Revival figures - Captain Georgi Mamarchev (officer in the Russian army), Georgi Sava Rakovski (one of the main ideologists of the movement for national liberation), the Rеvival men of letters Neophyte Bozvelli, Dr. Petar Beron, Sofroni Vrachanski, the socially active men Gavril Krastevich, Aleko Bogoridi and Stefan Bogoridy. In 1812 the first Bulgarian elite secular school was opened in Kotel. During the Turkish raids the town suffered hard times and was twice set on fire. After the liberation in 1894 Kotel suffered a last devastating fire that devoured the greater part of the town. Only the quarter called Galata survived and today it renders an approximate idea of what the old town looked like. The craft of carpet weaving, which is very typical for Kotel and the region, makes the town one of the oldest centres of artistic fabrics in the country and abroad.

Landmarks
The town of Kotel has been declared an architectural and historical reserve. About 110 houses from the Revival Period have been preserved there. There is a museum exposition of brilliant fabrics – a symbol of the ancient craft of carpet weaving in the Galatan School. Kyorpev’s house is an ethnographic museum. The Pantheon of Kotel`s Revival Men and Women is an imposing building made of stone, iron, copper and wood and gives the impression of contact with the glory of past epochs. The Museum of Nature and Science preserves approximately 30,000 exhibits, which show the natural variety of the area.

The village of Kovachevitsa is huddled up in the ridges in the remotest south-western corner of the Rhodopes, about 1,050m above sea level. Its dwellers number 50 people. Kovachevitsa is simply out of this world – so very detached from the modern-day surroundings. It is like a piece of Heaven created by nature and moulded by the skilful hands of the local craftsmen – builders, stone-masons and wood-carvers. Its charming, narrow, cobblestone streets and the unadorned beauty of its proud, tall white-facade houses, with stone-slab roofs and huddled whispering eaves, are a unique example of the Bulgarian architectural genius.

A unique example of the Bulgarian architectural genius
The village was founded at the end of the 17th century AD. The first monastery school was built in 1830, and the village church St. Nikolai – in 1848, turning Kovachevitsa into the cultural centre of the entire region. The authentic architectural style of building has not been changed since the founding of the village. The only building materials used are stone and wood and they are still applied today.

Driving on highway E 97, you have to turn to the west near the town of Dupnitsa to reach the administrative centre of the region, Kyustendil. Thus, you will be travelling on the oldest road which connected Constantinople with Bosnia and the region of the Adriatic Sea .

Kyustendil, general view
The region, however, is most famous for its numerous mineral water springs: hot mineral water springs in Kyustendil, Sapareva Banya, the villages of Nevestino and Chetirtzi. A marvel of nature, found in the region is the Stob pyramids.

In the picturesque village of Leshten about 30 houses nestle high in the Pirin Mountains. All of the houses are built in a style that is typical for the architecture of mountainous Bulgarian villages.

Many of the houses, where one can meet hospitable people and try delicious meals, are for rent.

Lovetch is located at the boundary between the Danube Plain and the northern foothills of the Balkan Range. The town was an important centre during the Bulgarian Revival and of the struggle for national liberation.

The area around has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Some of the most interesting Neolithic finds in Bulgaria have been discovered in the Devetashka Cave, 24 km from Lovetch. The objects discovered in the course of archaeological excavations (silver, bronze and copper vessels, ornaments and weapons, stone votive tablets etc.) testify to intensive life in the region during antiquity as well.

The pride of Lovetch is the covered bridge over the river Ossam. Built up in 1874 by master Kolyo Ficheto - length 84 m, with 64 small shops. On 23 of August 1925 it was burned by a fire. It was erected again in 1927-1931 as a ferro-concrete covered bridge, reconstructed and restored several times. Today its length is 106 m.