Continued our road to Pestera

In some places the chimneys were still standing, and here were some cooking their meals, though God knows they had little enough to cook. Taking leave of the village, we continued our road to Pestera, where we had decided to pass the night, and after an hour’s drive over a very bad road, and an upset in which one of our party narrowly escaped being killed, we arrived at the village.

We wrere shown to the house of a Bulgarian, who offered us his hospitality, and in half an hour we received the visit of the Mudir of the village, accompanied by two officials from Tatar Bazardjik. After the interchange of various compliments, it turned out that one of these officials had been sent by the Kaimakam of Tatar Bazardjik to accompany us to Batak. To this Mr. Schuyler decidedly objected, and a long discussion ensued, at the end of which he informed them in the most peremptory manner that he would allow no official to accompany him, and this ended the matter Daily Tours Istanbul.

Hospitality shown

Bulgarian was delighted to entertain us and gave us an excellent supper, to which we did ample justice, but I cannot say so much for the sleeping accommodations he offered us. We all occupied the same room, and slept on divans extended around the walls, which were anything but downy ; but the hospitality shown us was so hearty and cordial that we scarcely thought of beds.

The poor people were only too glad to receive our party of five, and to offer us the best they had, for they looked to us, strangers as we were, for encouragement and protection against their Mussulman rulers. As soon as the Mudir went away, what appeared to be the whole population of the town seemed to flock into the court-yard of our house, anxious to shake hands with us, or to tell us their tales of woe.

The people who had these stories to tell us we soon found were not the people of the place, but of Batak, the town to which we were bound on the morrow, who had come here to beg a little assistance from their more lucky neighbours, and who now flocked around us with their plaints. ‘They were mostly women who had lost their husbands, and in many cases their children, whose houses had been burnt, and who, from a condition of ease and independence, had been reduced to starvation and widowhood.

Continued our road to Pestera

In some places the chimneys were still standing, and here were some cooking their meals, though God knows they had little enough to cook. Taking leave of the village, we continued our road to Pestera, where we had decided to pass the night, and after an hour’s drive over a very bad road, and an upset in which one of our party narrowly escaped being killed, we arrived at the village.

We wrere shown to the house of a Bulgarian, who offered us his hospitality, and in half an hour we received the visit of the Mudir of the village, accompanied by two officials from Tatar Bazardjik. After the interchange of various compliments, it turned out that one of these officials had been sent by the Kaimakam of Tatar Bazardjik to accompany us to Batak. To this Mr. Schuyler decidedly objected, and a long discussion ensued, at the end of which he informed them in the most peremptory manner that he would allow no official to accompany him, and this ended the matter Daily Tours Istanbul.

Hospitality shown

Bulgarian was delighted to entertain us and gave us an excellent supper, to which we did ample justice, but I cannot say so much for the sleeping accommodations he offered us. We all occupied the same room, and slept on divans extended around the walls, which were anything but downy ; but the hospitality shown us was so hearty and cordial that we scarcely thought of beds.

The poor people were only too glad to receive our party of five, and to offer us the best they had, for they looked to us, strangers as we were, for encouragement and protection against their Mussulman rulers. As soon as the Mudir went away, what appeared to be the whole population of the town seemed to flock into the court-yard of our house, anxious to shake hands with us, or to tell us their tales of woe.

The people who had these stories to tell us we soon found were not the people of the place, but of Batak, the town to which we were bound on the morrow, who had come here to beg a little assistance from their more lucky neighbours, and who now flocked around us with their plaints. ‘They were mostly women who had lost their husbands, and in many cases their children, whose houses had been burnt, and who, from a condition of ease and independence, had been reduced to starvation and widowhood.

Children and grandchildren

They were of all ages, from eighteen up to eighty ; young mothers with children in their arms and two or three hanging to their skirts ; middle-aged women who had grown-up sons and daughters that had fallen under the sharp edge of the sword ; old grandmothers with children and grandchildren all swept away at one fell swoop.

They all told their stories with sobs and tears, beating their heads and wringing their hands in despair. And they were starving and houseless. We could not relieve their misery. We could only listen to their stories with saddened faces, and tell them to hope for better times, and promise to do something for them, if possible, when we should return to Constantinople. Vain hopes, and, I fear, vainer promises.

TATAR BAZARDJIK, August 2.

Since my letter of yesterday I have sapped full of horrors. Nothing has yet been said of the Turks that I do not now believe; nothing could be said of them that I should not think probable and likely. There is, it would seem, a point in atrocity beyond which discrimination is impossible, when mere comparison, calculation, measurement, are out of the question, and this point the Turks have already passed. You can follow them no further Daily Tours Istanbul.

The way is blocked up by mountains of hideous facts, beyond which you cannot see and do not care to go. You feel that it is superfluous to continue measuring these mountains and deciding whether they be a few feet higher or lower, and you do not care to go seeking for molehills among them. You feel that it is time to turn back ; that you have seen enough.

But let me tell what we saw at Batak:—We had some difficulty in getting away from Pestera. The authorities were offended because Mr. Schuyler refused to take any Turkish official with him, and they ordered the inhabitants to tell us there were no horses, for we had here to leave our carriages and take to the saddle. But the people were so anxious we should go, that they furnished horses in spite of the prohibition, only bringing them first without saddles, by way of showing how reluctantly they did it.

Pomaks or Mohammedan Bulgarians

Shortly afterwards seven more Turks, who approached the village, were ordered to surrender, and did so at once. These were two zaptiehs, two tax-collectors, one clerk, and two pomaks or Mohammedan Bulgarians. They were all lodged in a Bulgarian house and well treated, except one of the zaptiehs or mounted police of the country, who had committed such acts of cruelty and barbarity that they decided he had merited death, and therefore sentenced and shot him.

A day or two later some people in a closed carriage, approaching along the road towards the fortifications, were hailed and likewise ordered to surrender, and upon their attempting to escape were fired upon. The carriage was captured, and it was found there were two men and three women in it. The two men and one of the women had been killed by the fire ; one of the remaining women seized a sabre and struck at one of the insurgents, whereupon she was killed. The other woman was captured and sent into the village Sightseeing Turkey, and well treated until the arrival of the Turks, when she was set at liberty.

As far as wre have been able to learn up to the present, those two women are the only ones that have been killed by the insurgents, and one of them, as I have just related, was shot accidentally. The Turkish authorities in Philippopolis state that there were twelve killed in all; but they have been unable to give Mr. Schuyler either the names of these women, or the names of the villages in which they were said to have been killed, and he therefore will not accept the statement until he finds further proof.

Kiani Pacha, who was sent here to inquire into the atrocities committed by the Baslii-Bazouks, told Mr. Schuyler, with the coolest assurance, that the wife and daughter of the Mudir of Avrat-alan had been killed. Mr. Schuyler found, upon investigation, that the wife of the Mudir had not been killed, and that he never had a daughter. It was said that the wife of the Mudir here in Otluk-kui had likewise been killed.

Pomaks or Mohammedan Bulgarians

Shortly afterwards seven more Turks, who approached the village, were ordered to surrender, and did so at once. These were two zaptiehs, two tax-collectors, one clerk, and two pomaks or Mohammedan Bulgarians. They were all lodged in a Bulgarian house and well treated, except one of the zaptiehs or mounted police of the country, who had committed such acts of cruelty and barbarity that they decided he had merited death, and therefore sentenced and shot him.

A day or two later some people in a closed carriage, approaching along the road towards the fortifications, were hailed and likewise ordered to surrender, and upon their attempting to escape were fired upon. The carriage was captured, and it was found there were two men and three women in it. The two men and one of the women had been killed by the fire ; one of the remaining women seized a sabre and struck at one of the insurgents, whereupon she was killed. The other woman was captured and sent into the village Sightseeing Turkey, and well treated until the arrival of the Turks, when she was set at liberty.

As far as wre have been able to learn up to the present, those two women are the only ones that have been killed by the insurgents, and one of them, as I have just related, was shot accidentally. The Turkish authorities in Philippopolis state that there were twelve killed in all; but they have been unable to give Mr. Schuyler either the names of these women, or the names of the villages in which they were said to have been killed, and he therefore will not accept the statement until he finds further proof.

Kiani Pacha, who was sent here to inquire into the atrocities committed by the Baslii-Bazouks, told Mr. Schuyler, with the coolest assurance, that the wife and daughter of the Mudir of Avrat-alan had been killed. Mr. Schuyler found, upon investigation, that the wife of the Mudir had not been killed, and that he never had a daughter. It was said that the wife of the Mudir here in Otluk-kui had likewise been killed.

Fight Servia and Montenegro

They would never have been able to fight Servia and Montenegro, and at the same time to keep up their communications through a hostile country that was up in arms against them. This is, in my mind, the best evidence that there was no organized insurrection throughout the country; for if there had been, it would have succeeded.

All the people of Panagurishti seem to have finally engaged in the revolt, for Raika informed me that even the women had gone out and worked on the fortifications, so great was the enthusiasm, and that they worked at them nine or ten days. I afterwards had occasion to inspect those amateur fortifications when I went there with Mr. Schuyler.

They consisted simply of slight embankments thrown up across two of the roads leading to the village on hills between one and two miles away. The ditch was about a foot or eighteen inches deep, and five or six feet wide, and the embankment, or loose earth, three or four feet high, and not more than four or five feet wide at the bottom, would not have stopped a three-pound shell. It would have afforded convenient cover for pickets or a skirmish line, but was utterly useless for anything else. It would have been equally useless had it been a well-constructed fort Sightseeing Turkey; for the village was so accessible from all sides, that infantry -would not be obliged to advance by the road, and the works would be turned.

The ten days during which they were throwing up this puny earthwork did not pass without some incidents. In the first place, two tax-collectors, who approached the place, were ordered to deliver up their arms, and upon their refusal to do so were fired upon and killed. These tax-collectors were not, properly speaking, officers of the Government, but rather agents of the tax farmer, who had excited the hatred of the people by their extortions.

Fight Servia and Montenegro

They would never have been able to fight Servia and Montenegro, and at the same time to keep up their communications through a hostile country that was up in arms against them. This is, in my mind, the best evidence that there was no organized insurrection throughout the country; for if there had been, it would have succeeded.

All the people of Panagurishti seem to have finally engaged in the revolt, for Raika informed me that even the women had gone out and worked on the fortifications, so great was the enthusiasm, and that they worked at them nine or ten days. I afterwards had occasion to inspect those amateur fortifications when I went there with Mr. Schuyler.

They consisted simply of slight embankments thrown up across two of the roads leading to the village on hills between one and two miles away. The ditch was about a foot or eighteen inches deep, and five or six feet wide, and the embankment, or loose earth, three or four feet high, and not more than four or five feet wide at the bottom, would not have stopped a three-pound shell. It would have afforded convenient cover for pickets or a skirmish line, but was utterly useless for anything else. It would have been equally useless had it been a well-constructed fort Sightseeing Turkey; for the village was so accessible from all sides, that infantry -would not be obliged to advance by the road, and the works would be turned.

The ten days during which they were throwing up this puny earthwork did not pass without some incidents. In the first place, two tax-collectors, who approached the place, were ordered to deliver up their arms, and upon their refusal to do so were fired upon and killed. These tax-collectors were not, properly speaking, officers of the Government, but rather agents of the tax farmer, who had excited the hatred of the people by their extortions.

Capital at Prespa and later at Ohrid

A huge part of the state – the lands between the Danube, the Black Sea and the Balkan Range – fell in Byzantine hands. What remained of Bulgaria – the Western Kingdom, with its capital at Prespa and later at Ohrid – was ruled by King Samuel (991 — 1014) and his brothers – David, Moses and Aaron. They tried to restore the territory of the state by wedging a war against Byzantium but soon David and Moses were killed, and on suspicion of betrayal Aaron was executed by Samuel. The King succeeded to liberate the north-eastern parts of the state and led his army to the south aiming at Thrace, Macedonia and the city of Thessaloniki. Once again luck betrayed the Bulgarians and after loosing several battles the eastern part of the state was ripped off by Byzantium. In July 1014 an epic battle took place in Macedonia Visit Bulgaria. The Bulgarians were defeated; 15 000 soldiers were captured and the Emperor Basil II ordered all to be blinded leaving just a single Since break of day, O mother, dear mother, faintly glowing, Upon their way, O mother, dear mother, troops are going. Horse after horse, O mother, dear mother, soldier on soldier, Swords like the sun, O mother, dear mother, shining boldly.

Taken from a folk poetry dedicated to Tsar Ivan Shishman, translated by Peter Tempest

The Second Bulgarian Kingdom: 1185 – 1396

Bulgaria under the Dynasty of the Assenids

The period of Byzantine subjugation lasted for 168 years but the Bulgarians did not submit to the oppressors. The Bulgarian lands became the boundary between Europe and the Empire. The devastating marches of the First (1096-1097) and the Second (1147) crusades ran across the Bulgarian territory. The Byzantine Empire fell in a crisis in the summer of 1185 – being attacked simultaneously by the Seljuk Turks, the Magyars, the Pechenegs and the Normans – and increased the taxation burden on the Bulgarian population which provoked mass discontent among the oppressed. The struggle against Byzantium was headed by Petar and Assen, two boyars who held the fortress of Turnovo. In the autumn of the same year the rising was proclaimed to the assembled people in the Church of St Demetrius and Petar (1185-1197) was crowned for the first tsar of the second Bulgarian kingdom, with Turnovo as his capital…

Thousand and One Columns

Cisterns and Reservoirs.—These were formerly nineteen in number, but ruins of only a few including two of the most important cisterns, the Philoxenus and the Basilica, now remain.

The Philoxenus Cistern, or The Cistern of the Thousand and One Columns (in Turkish Bin Bir JDlreck) is situated in the street opposite the tomb of SultanMahmud II. Admission 1 piastre (2d.) per head.

This cistern, one of the finest in Constantinople, dates from the time of Constantine the Great, and derives its name, according to Codinus, from the Senator Philoxenus who came to Constantinople from Borne with the Emperor; or, more probably, from the fact that it was intended for the inhabitants and strangers who lived in the vicinity, unlike the Basilica cistern, which was only for the supply of the Palace. It is 190 feet long and 166 feet wide, and its roof is supported by 212 pillars, composed of three tiers of columns, making altogether 636, and not 1001 as implied by its name. These are placed one above the other, are joined by arches, and are arranged in 15 rows. Only the upper of the three tiers is to be seen in its entirety. It is 14 feet 4 inches high. Only part of the middle tier is visible; the remainder of this and the whole of the lower tier being buried in the mud which has for centuries accumulated in this cistern. Some of the capitals, which are devoid of any sculpture, bear the letter G and other Byzantine initials and monograms and crosses which have lately been obliterated with whitewash. The cistern is now quite dry, and has long been used by Armenians who follow the occupation of silk-spinners. ‘

Bcutan Sarai

The Basilica Cistern, called Yen Bcutan Sarai (Underground Palace) by the Turks, is to the left of St. Sophia, in the court of a Turkish private house (admission 5 piastres per head). It was discovered at the beginning of the eleventh 9 century by Gyllius, having till then remained unknown owing to the houses built over it. The finder narrates how he was let down through a hole he had accidentally found in the ground, and crossed the cistern in a boat which he found there and which was used by the owner of the house above. This cistern still contains water, used by the people living in the houses above it. It is supposed to extend under St. Sophia and to communicate with the sea, but in reality reaches no farther than 80 feet to the north of St. Sophia, and is above sea- level. It was built by Constantine the Great, and enlarged by Justinian. Over it were the Institutes, Library, and part of the University founded by Constantine. It is 336 feet by 182 feet, and its vaulted roof rests on 336 pillars, 40 feet high and 12 feet apart, arranged in 12 rows.

Travellers should examine all change

Travellers should examine all change tendered them, and refuse all worn and light coins.

Foreign Coins.—Gold coins of any European country pass current in Constantinople. Those most in use are the English sovereign, better known as Ingliz Lira, given and taken at 120 piastres silver value. And the foreigner tendering an English sovereign or half-sovereign will do well to call attention to the coin, otherwise it may be taken for a Turkish lira or half lira, which of course are of less value. Next come the gold twenty and ten franc pieces, given and taken at 95 and 47J piastres silver respectively. The Austrian ducat or kremitz is valued at 56 piastres silver.

The silver francs are worth 4 J piastres; the only ones to be taken or given by travellers should be the French, Italian, and Greek silver francs; those of any other European nation are with difficulty exchanged at the rate of 3 or 3 J piastres.

Bank of England notes for £5 and £10, and French Banque de France notes for 100 francs, are taken everywhere in payment, and are readily changed by the money-changers.

Legal Tender.—There is practically no such thing as legal tender in Turkey, and payment may be made in coins of any current denomination. In all the Government departments, however, as well as at the bridge toll-offices, and ferry-boat and railway booking-offices, only Turkish money must be tendered guided istanbul tour.

Imperial Ottoman Bank

Banks.—Imperial Ottoman Bank, an Anglo- French company founded by Imperial Charter, a large building in Rue Yoivoda, Galata. Branch office, Grande Rue de Pera. The Credit Lyonnais, branch office, in Karakeui. Messrs. Thomas Cook and Sons, 12 Rue Kabristan, Pera. At this latter firm’s office travellers always can get circular notes issued or cashed, and bank notes changed into any kind of money they may require at the time.

Sarrafs or Money-changers.—These are one of the special features of Constantinople and of all Turkish towns. Their name is legion; they are to be found in all the principal thoroughfares, and they generally combine their special calling with that of tobacconist. The charge for giving change varies

with the nature of the change demanded of them, and may range from Id. to 5d. in the pound. They are either Jews, Greeks, or Armenians, no Turk having yet been seen or heard of following the calling of a sarraf.

The Turkish Calendar.—Turkish chronology is computed from the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, on the 16th of July 622 A.D., which on the prophet’s death seventeen years later was established as an era by the Caliph Omar, and was styled the Hejreh (Flight), corrupted by Europeans into Hegira. The Turkish year is the lunar year, divided into twelve months of thirty and of twenty-nine days alternately, so that there are 354 days in a year, and each year commences 11 days earlier than the preceding one, a cycle occurring once every thirty- three. years. Turkish time is computed from sunset, the day being divided into twenty-four hours counted as twice twelve; Turkish time, therefore, as com-pared with European time, varies throughout the year. Natives generally set their watches by Yeni Valideh Mosque clock.

ALPHONSE DE LAMARTINE COLLECTION

(Georgi Mavridi House) 19 Knyaz Tseretelev Street

This small but memorable exhibition of the life and work of the eminent French poet and politician is arranged in the house of Georgi Madridi. In the summer of 1833, during Lamartine’s travels in the Orient, he stayed here for three days and since then the house has been associated with his name. Mavridi’s House is one of the biggest and most beautiful in Old

Plovdiv. An unknown master-builder has managed to overcome the difficulties posed by the sloping terrain in a brilliant way. The foundations and the ground floor of the house have an irregular outline while the two upper floors have the typical symmetrical plan. Each of them juts out over the floor below which considerably increases the living area of the house by adding to its height. People compare it to a bird spreading wings before flying off, an effect achieved by its position on the corner of Zora and Knyaz Tseretelev streets and by its being in good sight from the foot of Jambaz Tepe bulgaria holidays.

THE ‘HIPPOCRATES’ PHARMACY COLLECTION

(Dr. Sotir Antoniadi House and Chemist’s, 16 Saborna Street)

The comparatively small two-storey Revival house is the site of a rich collection dedicated to the history of pharmacy in Plovdiv and the area. The house was built in 1872 for Dr. Sotir Antoniadi – a notable representative of the Greek ethnic community in Plovdiv, one of the first academically trained doctors before the Liberation. The Georgi Mavridi House, site of ‘Alphonse de Lamartene’ collection.

Dr. S. Antoniadi House – the old-world ‘Hippocrates’ Pharmacy.

building has an asymmetrical plan and is quite solid. The pharmacy was on the ground floor and the doctor’s family lived on the upper floor.The ceilings of the house are plastered and decorated with painted rosettes and plant ornaments. The museum pharmacy was opened in 1981 and is unique for the country. It is a truthful representation of the typical Plovdiv pharmacy of old times and has a functioning counter for the purchase of contemporary medicines.

CITY ART GALLERY

(The former Girls’ School)

14 Saborna Street

The distinguished-looking building of the former Girls’

Secondary School of Plovdiv now houses the permanent exhibition of the City Art Gallery. Over BOO paintings, graphics and sculptures show the development of art from the time of the National Revival to our days. One can see here the oldest portrait in Bulgarian art, executed by an unknown artist from Tryavna, of Sofronii Vrachanski as well as works by Stanislav Dospevski, Nikolai Pavlovich, Georgi Danchov, Anton Mitov, Hristo Stanchev and Ivan Mrkvicka.

The exhibition traces the development of the genres of still life, landscape and figured composition from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th c. to our time. The work of painters from Plovdiv is extensively displayed, starting from the establishment of the ‘Association of the Artists from Southeast Bulgaria’ in 1912 to the present day.

Sanatorium with a polyclinic

The mineral springs are radioactive. There is a sanatorium with a polyclinic, three mineral water pools, physiotherapy (electrolux treatment) and paraffin treatment. Various diseases treated include: functional diseases of the nervous system, cardiac diseases, metabolic diseases, diabetes, gout and obesity. There are several balneosanatoria in the resort in addition to Zomitsa hotel, accommodating 136, restaurant, coffee shop, information bureau and parking lot.Tel. 274.

14 km from Narechen is a turning to the right of the mam road, leading to a unique natural phenomenon — the Rock Bridges, also known by their Turkish name of Er Kyupriya. These are rock formations built by nature over thousands of years. The upper bridge is 96 m long and overhangs a deep abyss. The second is a 60 m-long tunnel and is 200 m below the upper one.

A further 27 km along the main road is the picturesque mountain town of Chepelare < pop 7,000) in ancient coniferous forests private turkey tours. It was founded in the beginning of the 18th century. Wood and wood processing industries are well developed.

Spelaeological museum (cave dwellings) is of interest

Zdravets hotel, 2 stars, 8 storeys, accommodating 150; restaurant, coffee shop, rent-a-car bureau, information office. Tel. 21-77.

10 km south is the mountain resort of Pamporovo. It is situated at an altitude of 1,650 m in the heart of the Rhodopes Winter here is mild and pleasant, influenced by the Aegean, and proper winter weather begins in January, There is a ski-school for beginners and numerous beginners ski tracks. Ski and ski shoes can be rented. There are many ski-tracks for experienced skiers and fast runs.

Hotel Perelik, 3 stars, 200 double rooms, 10 single rooms and 36 de-luxe rooms, swimming pool, sauna, garage and parking lot, restaurant, national restaurant, day bar, and disco.

Hotel Mourgavets, 3 stars, accommodating 160, restaurant, rooftop cafeteria.

The Rozhen-Prespa hotel compound: two hotels, 2 stars, 357 beds; restaurants, bars, coffee-shops.

Orfei — 2 stars, 182 beds; Panorama, 2 stars, 160 beds.

Snezhanka, 2 stars, accommodating 106. Each of these last three hotels has a restaurant, coffee shop, day bar, night club and national restaurant. The Chevenneto restaurant offers typical Rhodope dishes. Malina restaurant is on the road to the village of Sluroka Luka, and has Bulgarian specialities: Rhodope pie, hominy, white beans. Panorama camp site, 4 km from Smolyan with bungalows.

There is a tourist information office in Mourgavets hotel, tel. 268, 317 and 318.

16 km from Pamporovo, still further into the mountains is Bulgaria’s highest town, Smolyan (pop. 37,687), at an altitude of 1,010 m and formed by the villages — Smolyan, Raikovo and Oustovo. lo the north are the ruins of the Aetos fortress. During forced conversion to Mohammedanism, any resistance was cruelly suppressed and the village of Smolyan destroyed. I he survivors founded a new village near by, known as Pashiakli (Sultan’s land). The other two villages also opposed conversion and a great toll was taken in human life. The villages flourished during the National Revival. rlhe late 19th century was marked by revolutionary struggles for independent culture, education and national liberation. Smolyan is the seat of the Rhodope drama theatre and the Rhodope state folk ensemble.

Kozhouh in the Kozhouh Mountains

The warm climate, the curative properties of the waters and the beautiful scenery have contributed to the development of Petrich as a resort. There are good sport facilities in winter, used by both Bulgarian and foreign athletes. The mineral waters gush forth from springs in the extinct volcano, Kozhouh in the Kozhouh Mountains. It lies 10 kilometres from Petrich. Part of the mountains have been declared a national park. The waters have high mineral content and hyper- theimal properties (77°C). They are used to treat arthritis and diseases of the peripheral nervous system.

The Bulgaria Hotel — (two star), run by Balkantourist, is in the centre of the town. It has 160 beds and a restaurant.

The ruins of the ancient town of Petra can be seen on the slopes of the Kozhouh. Foundations of public buildings and parts of a fortress wall have been preserved. Fifteen kilometres west of Petrich is the Samouil Fortress Park and Monument, between the mountains of Belassitsa and Ogtazhden. Remains of walls where battles were waged between Bulgarian troops and the Byzantine Emperor Basil II are still visible.

Thirteen kilometres from Petrich is the Koulata frontier check point. There is a restaurant, motel, camping site, food kiosk and Corecom shop.

SOFIA – NOVI ISKUR – SVOGE – LAKATNIK – MEZ- DRA – VRATSA – Mil IAILOVGRAD – BELOGRADCHIK – VIDIN – KOULA

The town of Vidin can be reached by three routes. The first is through the Vitinya Pass and north through Botevgrad and Vratsa, the second is through the Petrohan Pass, Berko- vitsa and Mihailovgrad, and the third passes through the picturesque Isker Gorge. We start from the north industrial region of Sofia. The first town we reach is Novi Isker (pop. 15,000) 17 km from Sofia, at the entrance to the Iskur Gorge. A few kilometres west are the Kutina pyramids, rock formations situated at the foot of the Sofiiska mountain. The Iskur Gorge begins from Novi Iskur and is most picturesque up to the village of Lyutibrod. It was formed by the erosion caused by the waters of the River Iskur.

Village of Bov

Between Novi Iskur and the village of Bov, the river passes among friable rocks, the gorge is wide with well-cut terraces. Sheer rocks loom large on both sides, some 250 m high, and the gorge resembles a canyon. The village of Vlada Trichkov is next with 1,600 inhabitants sofia city tour. It is named after a partisan leader. The village of Rebrovo(pop. 1,500) is situated at the source of the River Batulirska in the Iskur. Four kilometres away is Batuliya where on May 23rd 1944, partisan units battled with the gendarmerie. Many heroes of the National Liberation Army were captured and killed during the days that followed, including Major William Frank Thompson, member of the British mission to the Bulgarian partisans. The small railway station bears his name.

Svoge is the largest town in the gorge — (pop. 8,200). It is a centre for coal-mining and food industry. The nearby village of Iskrets (2,700) has sanatoria for TB and heart disorder sufferers. The sheer rocky slopes of the Lakatnik Karst area just opposite Lakatnik railway station provide excellent opportunities for mountaineering. Perched high on a rock like a squirrel’s nest is a small Alpine chalet. Not far away is a monument to the rebels shot down after the defeat of the September 1923 anti-fascist uprising, A veritable kingdom of caves begins here. The.well-known Temnata Doupka cave is some three kilometres long; an underwater river flows through it, forming several lakes, and finally surfacing. The Mechata Doupka cave is 480 km in length.

Other bank of the River Ticha

On the contrary, the major part of it, which lay to the east, on the other bank of the River Ticha, was not fortified at all. Preslav occupied barely half the area of Pliska. As in Pliska the «OuterCity» included the districts inhabited by the common population of craftsmen and farmers, and separate estates owned by feudal lords and the higher clergy. In the spacious outer city monasteries and bolyar churches were found, remarkable for the richness of their interior decoration.

Preslav was a centre of production. It was well known for the highly artistic painted ceramics it produced, which were chiefly used as decorative facing for buildings or for the expensive floors of the bolyar churches, etc. The greatest variety of vessels of lovely and original forms, exquisitely decorated in a number of gay colours, was made in Preslav.

Excavations carried out here in the last few years have brought to light a large amount of material, which reveals in its entirety the high level of culture created by the Bulgarian people in the early Middle Ages. In the 10th century Preslav was not only the chief administrative centre in the Bulgarian kingdom, it was also an industrial and commercial centre private tours istanbul. It was the centre of the intellectual life in Bulgaria of that day. An interesting epigraphic monument dates back to the last years of Preslav’s prosperity — the tombstone of Mostich, one of the foremost nobles at the court of the Kings Simeon and Peter.

In 1018, after a desperate resistance, the Bulgarian state was conquered by the Byzantines. For over 150 years they dominated the country. There were practically no conditions at that time for the development of an original Bulgarian culture and art. Nevertheless, certain buildings were erected in the country at that time, some of which though not Bulgarian, are of great artistic and historical importance in general. One of them is the mausoleum church at the Monastery of Bachkovo with its murals. The Monastery of Bachkovo was founded in 1083 by Gregory Pakourian, a Georgian by birth, and a Byzantine general.

Picturesque spots in the Phodopes

He chose one of the most picturesque spots in the Phodopes for his monastery, about 30 km. south of Plovdiv in the valley of the River Chaya. Of the original monastery buildings only Pakourian’s two-storied family vault and chapel has been preserved; it stood 300 m. outside the monastery itself. Frescoes painted at the end of the 11th, and the middle of the 12th century have been preserved here. There are also some 14th century frescoes. The frescoes of the first two periods are of particular value, and are at the moment some of the most importrant examples of Byzantine monumental painting in the period of the Comnenes.

Among the 14th century murals there is an important portrait of Ivan Alexander, which is, however, badly damaged. We have almost no idea as to the development of Bulgarian painting during the Byzantine rule. The oldest murals in the Boyana Church and the remains of the older wall paintings in the Church of St. George in Sofia, which are usually dated back to the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century, are so fragmentary and badly preserved that no essential conclusions can be drawn from them. Far more monuments of medieval Bulgarian architecture and art have been preserved within the frontiers of present day Bulgaria of the period of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.

Naturally, after Bulgaria’s liberation from Byzantine domination in 1186, far more favourable conditions were created for the development of culture and art. Turnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, situated at the foot of the two inaccessible hills of Tsarevets and Trapezitsa, girded by the sharp bends of the River Yantra, became a powerful stronghold, the seat of a ruler and the principal centre of medieval Bulgarian culture. It is linked with the brightest and most tragic events in the history of the Bulgarian people in the second half of the Middle Ages. Here, a revolt of the whole people against Byzantine rule broke out in 1186, headed by the brother nobles Assenand Peier.

CAMPINGS

En meme temps que les hotels, motels et restaurants de premiere classe, plus de 120 campings ont ete amena- ge’s dans toutes les regions du pays, situes a proximite de sites et d’agglomerations pitto- resques, de grandes routes, de lacs et de cours d’eau, de monuments historiques. Une grande partie de ces campings

se trouvent le long du littoral de la mer Noire. Ils sont repartis en trois categories: special, premiere et deuxieme. La categorie sped ale com- prend les campings suivants qui devraient retenir 1’atten- tion des touristes: Panorama et Zlatni Piassatsi – a proximite de la villegiature Zlatni Piassatsi; Emona, Slantchev

Briag — pres de la villegiature Slantchev Briag; Kavatsite – pres de Sozopol et Arkoutino

– pres de l’embouchure du R op ota mo; Per la — au nord de Primorsko; Bolyarski Stan

– pres de Tirnovo. Ces cam-pings disposent de restaurants, de magasins d’alimentation, de lieux de divertissement, de kiosques de souvenirs, etc balkan tours.

Nous vous recomman- dons les campings suivants de premiere categorie: Bisser — pres de Baltchik; Morska

route E-5N; Tchaia – au Sud de Plovdiv, sur la route E-5N; Stoletov – au sommet du meme nom, dans la Stara Pla- nina, Balkan — pres du village de Brestnitsa, dep. de Lovetch; Sveta Gora— pres de Tirnovo; R ibarska Hija — pres de Rousse. Us sont situes dans des sites pittoresques, a proxi- mite des centres touristiques. Chaque camping (ou alentour) est dote d’un restaurant, de pavilions d’alimentation, etc.

Deuxieme categorie:

Zvezda — pres de Kavarna; Horizont – au Sud de l’embou-chure de Kamtchia; Smoki- nya — au Sud de Sozopol; Evropa — pres de Pomorie; Kapitan Andreevo — avec un motel, au point d’entree a la frontiere bulgaro-turque; Vra- nia — pres de Sofia, sur la route E-5N; Belovo — pres du village du meme nom, dep. de Plovdiv; Maritsa — avec un motel, pres de Plovdiv, sur laIzgrev – au Sud de 1’embou- chure de Kamtchia; Vlas – au Nord de la villegiature Slantchev Briag; Rilski Monastir- a proximite du monastere de Rila, Magoura – pres de la grotte Rabicha; Galata – au Sud de Varna; Kardam- pres de la ville du meme nom, a la frontiere bulgaro-roumaine; Chtarkelovo Gnezdo – au Nord du barrage Iskar, sur la route Sofia-Samokov; Bankya have a reception room, toilets and running water. In their neighbourhood are shops selling foodstuffs, etc.

Naturally, these are not all the camp sites in the country and you can put up at many other well-appointed and picturesque camp sites. Prices at the camp sites are: (in leva).

Special

class 1st class 2nd class

Per person per night 0.80 0.60 0.40

Per car per night 0.80 0.60 0.40

Per caravan per night 0.80 0.60 0.40

Place for a tent 0.80

Children up to 12 years of age get a reduction of 50 per cent on these prices.

Motels are situated on the E-5N, E-20, E-97, E-95 International Highways. Prices per bed in them are between 4.50 and 6 leva depending upon the class. Next to them there is usually a restaurant, shops selling foodstuffs and souvenirs, etc.

Detailed information can be obtained from the tourist organizations.

KAMCHlYA

Some 30 km south of Varna, near the mouth of the Kamchiya River, in a dense forest entwined in lianas, lies the resortof Kamchiya. In the high season there is a regular bus service between Varna and the resort. Here there is Kamchiya Hotel (with restaurant), lst-B class with 130 beds in two and three-bed rooms plus shower; Longoza Hotel, 1st class, with 100 double bedrooms plus showers. There is a night bar at the hotel. Two restaurants with a total of 350 places have been built close to the beach. Two camp sites, Pirin and Rai offer 4,900 places in bungalows and tents. Boats and pedaloes can be hired at the water sports centre.The Pirin Bureau organizes excursions from the resort to many points on the coast, to Shoumen, Pliska and Preslav, Madara, Veliko Tumovo, Sofia, Odessa and Istanbul.

MOUNTAIN RESORTS

Besides the magnificent seaside resorts on the Black Sea coast, there are also high-mountain resorts in Bulgaria, which offer tourists ideal opportunities for holidaying and entertainment. Situated in the picturesque Rila local ephesus tour guides, Rhodope and Vitosha mountains, these resorts are connected by modern roads and can be visited in all seasons of the year.

BOROVETS

Situated at an altitude of 1,300 m above sea level in the northern folds of the pine-covered Rila Mountains, it has an excellent climate for holidaymaking both in summer and in winter, low humidity, intensive ultraviolet radiation and mean temperatures ranging from +21.0°C in summer to -1.1°C in winter.

As a winter sports centre, Borovets boasts a great many ski runs: the longest one – Yastrebets (3,100 m with a drop of 860m), a downhill run (2,400 m with 450 m drop), a slalom track (450 m, drop 120 m), a ski-jump of 80 m, training tracks, etc.

The Balkantourist hotels are in the centre of the resort: Bor Hotel, lst-A class, with 100 beds in 48 rooms and three de luxe suites. The restaurant at the hotel has a banqueting hall for 50, an orchestra, bar and folklore corner; Edelweiss Hotel, lst-A class, with 200 beds in 102 rooms and two suites. There is a restaurant-bar in the hotel. In winter skis, sleds, skates and other equipment are for hire.

Near the big ski-track stands Iglika Hotel run by the Pirin Tourist Bureau; 17 twin-bed rooms with private baths, 22 twin- bed rooms and 48 rooms with 4 and 8 beds each. Near the hotel there is a small restaurant catering for 100 guests at a time.

Interesting excursions and hikes can be undertaken from Borovets to the picturesque environs of the resort: to Mount Moussala (2,925 m, the highest peak on the Balkans), to Malyovitsa Peak (2,729 m, with a chalet for 100 tourists), to the Black Rock, to the former palaces of Sitnyakovo, Bistritsa and Sarugyol, to Sokolets, to Zavrachitsa Peak (2,178 m) – a 6-hour walk from Borovets with a chalet for 800 and excellent ski- tracks, to Yastrebets Peak (2,350 m) – 3 hours away with ski- track.

At the resort there is a post office, a clinic, currency exchange and tourist information bureau, souvenir stands. Chronic inflammations of the respiratory ducts, light bronchitis, laryngitis, hypertonia, atherosclerosis, diabetes and silicosis are treated in the resort.

A first-class road leads from Sofia to the resort, passing Pancharevo, several lakes, the Isker Dam and Samokov. There is a regular 40-minute bus service to Samokov.

Gilbert and commission

Imagine the tenth part of this outrage applied to statue, picture, hymn, or poem. Suppose the Trustees of the British Museum were to call in Mr. Gilbert and commission him to restore the Parthenon torsos, to bring the fragments from the Mausoleum up to the style of the Periclean era. Suppose the Ministry of Fine Arts in France restored the arms of the Melian Aphrodite in the Louvre, or the Pope restored the legs, arms, and head to the torso beloved by Buonarroti. Europe, in either case, would ring with indignation and horror. Time was, no doubt, when these things were done, and done by clever sculptors in better ages of art than ours. But we may be fairly sure that it will never be done again.

Pictures, we know, have been restored; and, perhaps, on the sly are restored still. Years ago I saw a miscreant painting over the ‘ Peter Martyr ’ of Titian in the Church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo; and it would have been a condign punishment if the fire which consumed it had caught him red-handed in the act. They have daubed Leonardo’s ‘ Cenacolo ’ till there is nothing but a shadow left. But though a sacrilegious brush may now and then be raised against an ancient Master (just as murder, rape, and arson are not yet absolutely put down), even our great- great-grandfathers, who made the grand tour and ‘collected’ in the days of Horace Walpole, never added powder and a full wig to one of Titian’s Doges, or asked Zoffany to finish a chalk study by Michael Angelo.

Certainly Colley Cibber

I do not know that there ever was a time when people restored a poem or a piece of music. Certainly Colley Cibber restored some of Shakespeare’s plays, introducing bon ton into ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Richard HI.’ And Michael Costa would interpolate brass into Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ But in any world that claims a title to art, taste, or culture, to falsify a note or a word, either in music or in poem private tours istanbul, is rank forgery and profanity—felony without benefit of clergy. Manuscripts are searched with microscopes and collated by photographs to secure the ipsissima verba of the author. And the editor who ‘improved’ a single line of ‘Lycidas’ would be drummed out of literature to the ‘ Rogue’s March.’

In our day, happily, poem, music, picture, and statue are preserved with a loving and religious care. Picture and statue are cased in glass and air-tight chambers; for we would not beteem the winds of heaven visit their face too roughly. The rude public are kept at arms’-length; and in some countries are not suffered so much as to look at the books, engravings, and paintings for which they have paid. Worship of an. old poet is carried to the point of printing his compositions in the authentic but unintelligible cacography he used. And as to old music, reverence is carried so far that too often we do not perform it at all, I suppose for fear that a passage here and there may not be interpreted aright.

Go to Sir Charles Newton or Mr. Murray, and tell him that the ‘Theseus’ and ‘Ilissus’ in the Elgin Room (I use the old conventional names) are sadly dilapidated on their surface, and that you could restore their skins to the original polish; or propose to repaint the Panathenaic frieze in the undoubted colours used by Pheidias. Tell Sir Frederick Burton or Mr. Poynter that the lights *in the ‘ Lazarus ’ and the ‘ Bacchus and Ariadne ’ have plainly gone down; and that you will carry out the ideas of Sebastian and Titian by heightening them a little. Tell him that ‘Alexander and the Family of Darius’ is full of anachronisms, and that you will re-robe the figures with strict attention to chronology and archaeology. I should like to see the looks of these public servants when you proposed it, as I should like to have seen Michael Angelo watching the ‘ Breeches-maker ’ who clothed the naked saints in his Sistine ‘ Last Judgment.’