Bulgaria Archives • Neverending Journey

600 years old Wooden mosque and healing stones attract visitors in a remote bulgarian village

Veneta Nikolova22 August, 202222 August, 2022

by Veneta Nikolova22 August, 202222 August, 20220992

The wooden mosque in Podkova village is shrouded in mysteries. Podkova is another amazing old village in the folds of the Eastern Rhodopes, which ignited my imagination. The village does not shine with preserved architecture or natural beauties, but it’s hidden gems attract more and more tourists. The village of...

Explore the Deaf Stones Thracian Sanctuary (VIDEO)

Veneta Nikolova21 February, 202122 February, 2021

by Veneta Nikolova21 February, 202122 February, 202102097

The Deaf Stones (Guhite kamani) rock sanctuary shrine is one of the largest Thracian cult – burial complexes in the Rhodope Mountain (Southeast Bulgaria). The santuary dates from the early Iron Age (XII – VI centuries BC.) and was used during Antiquity and Middle Ages. Cultural layers, thick over 2.5...

7 must-visit attractions in Koprivshtitsa

Veneta Nikolova26 March, 202027 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova26 March, 202027 March, 202003818

I have visited Koprivshtitsa so many times. That’s why I was convinced that this picturesque mountain town, which has long become a popular tourist destination, has nothing new to offer. I was certain that it had become overcrowded with tourists, too commercial at the expense of its authenticity. But I...

The Devil ‘s Throat – Welcome to the kingdom of Hades

Veneta Nikolova25 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova25 March, 202025 March, 202004236

Stepping over its threshold into the millennia-old twilight, one is very vividly aware of being a helpless link in the endless chain of the Universe. And if you listen in to the roar of the masses of water vanishing into the bottomless maze you will surely stand in awe of...

Hidden Bulgaria – Strandzha Mountain

Veneta Nikolova24 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova24 March, 202025 March, 202003450

Strandzha is a place wrapped in mystery. This mountain standing in the furthermost corner of Southeast Bulgaria. It is a magnet for people of adventure, wishing to spend something different from a standard vacation far from the chaos and bustle of modern civilization. You can hardly imagine a wilder spot...

Lakatnik rocks – a paradise for adventurers a day hike from Sofia

Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 202005052

The Lakatnik rocks are very popular among fans of nature and high adrenaline. Those Magnificent rocks soar on the eastern slope of the Iskar Gorge which swings among the folds of the Balkan Mountain Range.The unique natural formations resemble a rock garland which is 250 meters high. The whole region...

Zlatograd – Bulgaria ‘s golden city

Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova22 March, 202025 March, 202002226

Zlatograd has always been “the gateway to the wide world”. People here say this is where Bulgaria begins, and with good reason. A gentle breeze from the Aegean Sea reaches this small town on the country’s border with Greece. Through the ages Zlatograd has brought different cultures together . They...

The village of Brashlyan – lost in the past

Veneta Nikolova20 March, 202025 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova20 March, 202025 March, 202002161

People in the village of Brashlyan still remember the times when the settlement was full of life and the local school found it hard to accommodate the kids from the area, willing to study. Now there are no more than 50 people left there. Silence and timelessness can be found...

The mysteries of St. Anastasia Island

Veneta Nikolova18 May, 201625 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova18 May, 201625 March, 202002875

Ninety years ago, terrorists exiled on Bulgarian St. Anastasia island would have found it hard to imagine a future when they would be considered romantic celebrities and their prison had become a tourist haven. Sometimes history plays tricks of its own, which is why it can be good to look...

Life of prayer in the Samokov convent

Veneta Nikolova30 October, 201425 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova30 October, 201425 March, 202001986

In the quiet yard of the Samokov convent, in the Bulgarian Rila mountain, there is an atmosphere of peace and quiet. When visitors step inside, they lower their voices as their souls fill up with calm. On a hot August morning the sun is beating down the monastery buildings...

On the trail of lost time: the submerged church of Zhrebchevo dam

Veneta Nikolova6 May, 201425 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova6 May, 201425 March, 202002646

It has been there more than 100 years, its lonely remains rising above the clear waters of the dam. In winter, the wind and the blizzards lash out at the building, ice freezing its foundations. In summer, the blazing sun mercilessly beats down on its age-old walls, the tumbledown roof and...

The mysteries of the Valley of Thracian Kings

Veneta Nikolova24 April, 201425 March, 2020

by Veneta Nikolova24 April, 201425 March, 202002751

The earliest traces of human presence in the environs of the town of Kazanluk in Central Bulgaria date back to the Neolithic age, i.e. 6th-5th millennium B.C. In latter years the Thracians settled permanently in those lands. A vestige of their advanced civilization are the numerous mounds, in which archaeologists discovered...