Belogradchik, Bulgaria, and the Golden Fields

July 2010
During my college year in France, I met a Bulgarian student, Julia, who told me that most everything was better or began in Bulgaria.  I was skeptical, but I now must admit they have the most beautiful fields of golden sunflowers that I have ever seen.  There were miles of gold.  I love the sunflowers of Tuscany and Provence, but these were spectacular.

Then there are the endangered European White Storks (1 meter or nearly 4 feet tall), enjoying their huge summer-home nests along Bulgarian roads.  These "baby-bringing" storks like to build nests on tall man-made edifices--chimneys, steeples, telephone and electric poles--and often return to and refurbish them for generations (even centuries).  But the electric poles haven't worked well--they sometimes caught on fire and left people without electricity and the storks without a nest or even a family.  Alongside roads and railway lines, the conservation-minded Bulgarians have now installed platforms at the top of the poles to hold the nests,  so that the storks have a safe home to return to after their winters in Africa.

We passed through cool forests on a hot day as we followed winding roads up to the town of Belogradchik to enjoy refreshments and our first view of the rocks at a modern hotel with spa services.  Across the green valleys, we saw outcroppings of multi-colored sandstone and limestone rocks that have been being shaped for more than 200 million years by the elements.  Belogradchik is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was well ranked in the recent 7 Natural Wonders of the World contest.  Nearby are the Magura Caves with cave drawings from 8000-600 BC  and at least four kinds of bats. Maybe next time...

From descriptions, I had thought the rocks might be like the strange volcanic fairy domes of Capadoccia, Turkey, or the western desert red-rock canyons of Zion's or Bryce in Utah, USA, but they were not.  Instead, they were like colored ships afloat in a sea of green, filled with the most interesting array of animal and human faces.  Many of the rocks have been given names and legends where everyone ends up being turned to stone: The Monks, Madonna, Bear, Monkey, Adam and Eve, Horse Rider.  Sometimes I saw alternative forms.  That was the fun of it--giving it your own interpretation.  If you look carefully at the rocks in the slideshow, you may well find the face of a friend who has been turned to stone.

To climb a section of the rocks, we passed through the Ottoman Citadel or Fortress of Belogradchik.  The fortress was built in a strategic place--near the Danube and between passages in the Balkan Mountains.  The Thracians built the first fort which was used and expanded by the Romans, the Byzantines, The Bulgarian Kingdoms, and then the Turks when they conquered in 1396.  It is mostly the old walls that remain, but we happened to be there during a time of rebuilding.  Belogrradchik had been chosen as the set for an Italian film,  The Captain's Daughter, and carpenters were busy constructing a town within the walls for the upcoming filming.

The climb from the fortress to the rocks had uneven stone steps, but was not too demanding if you took your time.  Then one could choose among several levels of difficulties to climb the rocks and enjoy the views.   Even though we came in the morning, it was a hot day, so I chose the most shaded path to find my rock-faced friends before enjoying our air-conditioned bus back to Vidin.  Next post:  The Fortress of Baba Vida.

Click link below for slideshow:
Belogradchik

Music: Angelite, A Pirin Melody, The Rough Guide to the Music of the Balkans