Bulgaria-Kazanlak Thracian Tomb.

Kazanlak is best described as the craddle of Thracian culture. The Thracian tumbs found in the region date back to the 4th century BC and have been on the Unesco protected World Heritage Site list since 1979. We found four videos in Bulgarian but with English subtitles which are very informative on Thracian culture, the history of Thracian kings and the origins of Thracian gold. They also show the sights one can visit in the region, which is an ideal day-trip destination if staying in Plovdiv or Stara Zagora. The first video is quite enlightening about how modern-day Bulgaria is evolving: it starts with an interview of Japanese people who chose to settle in the region for the quality of the air and the interestingness of the culture.

Kazanlak also lies at the center of the famous Rose Valley, where the Bulgarian rose is cultivated, from which the most exclusive rose scented perfumes are made of. Have a look at our Kazanlak picture collection to see some of the sceneries.

The temple of Orpheus at Tatul.

Blue Bulgaria recently went on the trails of Orpheus in the Rhodopes region. From the little village of Gela close to the Greek border, through Shiroka Laka, Pamporovo, Perperikon and Karzhali, before arriving in Tatul, where the main temple of Orpheus is thought to be. Not as grandiose as Perperikon, the temple at Tatul is located in a very scenic setting on a cliff overlooking a valley. Read more about our journey through Bulgaria and have a look at our pictures collection.

Koprivshtitsa.

We’ve recently added a lot of beautiful pictures taken in this village tucked away in the Stara Planina mountains which was the cradle of Bulgaria’s liberation movement that led to the country’s independence from the Ottoman empire. View the whole picture set on BlueBulgaria.com.

There was a nice show in central Sofia on New Year’s eve on the occasion of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union. Some people captured the show on television and posted in on the internet. It’s now available here in BlueBulgaria.com‘s movie section. Enjoy!

The National Geographic magazine’s December 2006 edition has a feature on Thracian Gold titled “Bulgaria’s Gold Rush, Thracian gold” in wish the author highlights some of the many Thracian treasures found in Bulgaria and also focuses on the somewhat controversial practices used by archaeologists who compete with illegal excavations. This provides good background context to our features on Perperikon and Stara Zagora.

Apparently part of the story in Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian” takes place in Bachkovo. This is what we learned from posts under our Bachkovo pictures at Flickr.