Bulgarian Discoveries III: Karandila, Kotel & Jeravna
In order to experience Bulgaria the local way, it is imperative to leave behind the tourist infrastructure on the Black Sea Coast and head inland for at least 1 to 2 hours by bus, car or motorbike. Here the true Bulgaria may be found, and the Balkan countryside may surprise outside observers by its stark beauty, variety of landscape and also its dire poverty. This is the forgotten Europe, and little has changed during the past two decades following the fall of communism. A combination of post-communist neglect and ubiquitous Bulgarian corruption has kept the funds flowing into the wrong pockets. Since much of said culture originates in the capital Sofia, most is kept and spent there, while little if any trickles down to the countryside. Equally, for young people it is thus important to seek opportunities in urban areas, as rural Bulgaria hardly offers sustainable prospects for their future.
As we head East from Nessebar or Burgas, the next larger town, KARNOBAT, reflects the entire misery of rural Bulgaria, featuring numerous sites of communist-era heavy industrial plants since shut down and left to rot to eternity. Everywhere we see Eastern Europe's grey pre-fab apartment blocks, yet here of the worst run-down and dilapidated variety. It is a stark reminder that there ARE still areas even within the European Union stricken by dire poverty and marked by administrative neglect. Yet beyond such dilapidated towns and villages, a Bulgaria of great beauty awaits us, as we are gradually climbing up towards the STARA PLANINA mountains, the huge mountain range dividing Bulgaria into North and South and giving the name to the entire geographical area: the BALKANS. Here we find fertile plains used for agriculture giving way to rolling hills used as grass land and then shrubs and evergreens in wooden areas at higher elevations.
Our first stop is KOTEL, a true Bulgarian Revival gem with many intact buildings dating from the 19th century inside the village center. Here we find the community's Ethnographic Museum, where locally made carpets are on display and the art of carpet weaving is explained to visitors. Unlike Turkey, this is not a commercial venue and noone is ever talked into purchases. In fact, none of the carpets on display are actually for sale here. Kotel also features a Bulgarian Revival House Museum, detailing elements of said 19th century Bulgarian architecture, with courtyards, summer kitchen, basement-level stone facade followed by first-floor wooden facades. Inside there is a small interior balcony for musicians and several bedrooms, including a single room for the oldest daughter for her to weave, knit and acquire the tools and skills for successful domestic bliss later. Certainly we notice a highly conservative and traditionalist outlook on life out here in the countryside. The same holds true for the many goats, donkeys and sheep, freely running around local highways and even inside village centers.
Next we proceed to nearby JERAVNA, another Bulgarian Revival gem and among the most scenic villages in Eastern Bulgaria. Although certainly used to tourism, the village itself is quintessentially rural with wild animals, farmers and many unpaved passages and roads inside the village. Here we find many worthwhile restaurants and cafes for a mid-day lunch stop or snack, along with locals selling home-knit goods and handicrafts. The prices are higher here though than in Kotel, reflecting the more popular tourist status of Jeravna. Also, the community features an interesting Bulgarian Revival-Era Orthodox Church, worth visiting both in its interior and outside.
Finally we make our way to the National Reserve of KARANDILA, just North of Sliven. This should best be done in sunny warm weather, as the area reveals its true beauty with blue skies and higher temperatures. It is hiking territory par excellence and here hiking is still a totally unconventional activity. There are no marked trails and certainly nothing in the way of infrastructure catering to hikers or, in the winter, skiers. As we proceed sharply uphill, the view opens up towards the Black Sea and Sliven below, and at the peak at about 800 meters we find a chair lift station from the 1970s but still in working order today. It is a delight in sunny weather to ride the chairlift down to SLIVEN, or rather to the valley station just above the town at 300 meters.
The difference in altitude of about 500 meters can be bridged on the chair lift in about 20 minutes.Sliven, although advertised as the gateway to Karandila with some local attractions, is hardly a beautiful place and features the same run-down communist era industrial cityscape as so many other local towns in Bulgaria. We thus return on the highway towards Burgas basking in the experience of great Bulgarian rural beauty in the Stara Planina mountains yet also aware of the stark contrast between such beauty and the dire poverty of much of its local population.
As we head East from Nessebar or Burgas, the next larger town, KARNOBAT, reflects the entire misery of rural Bulgaria, featuring numerous sites of communist-era heavy industrial plants since shut down and left to rot to eternity. Everywhere we see Eastern Europe's grey pre-fab apartment blocks, yet here of the worst run-down and dilapidated variety. It is a stark reminder that there ARE still areas even within the European Union stricken by dire poverty and marked by administrative neglect. Yet beyond such dilapidated towns and villages, a Bulgaria of great beauty awaits us, as we are gradually climbing up towards the STARA PLANINA mountains, the huge mountain range dividing Bulgaria into North and South and giving the name to the entire geographical area: the BALKANS. Here we find fertile plains used for agriculture giving way to rolling hills used as grass land and then shrubs and evergreens in wooden areas at higher elevations.
Our first stop is KOTEL, a true Bulgarian Revival gem with many intact buildings dating from the 19th century inside the village center. Here we find the community's Ethnographic Museum, where locally made carpets are on display and the art of carpet weaving is explained to visitors. Unlike Turkey, this is not a commercial venue and noone is ever talked into purchases. In fact, none of the carpets on display are actually for sale here. Kotel also features a Bulgarian Revival House Museum, detailing elements of said 19th century Bulgarian architecture, with courtyards, summer kitchen, basement-level stone facade followed by first-floor wooden facades. Inside there is a small interior balcony for musicians and several bedrooms, including a single room for the oldest daughter for her to weave, knit and acquire the tools and skills for successful domestic bliss later. Certainly we notice a highly conservative and traditionalist outlook on life out here in the countryside. The same holds true for the many goats, donkeys and sheep, freely running around local highways and even inside village centers.
Next we proceed to nearby JERAVNA, another Bulgarian Revival gem and among the most scenic villages in Eastern Bulgaria. Although certainly used to tourism, the village itself is quintessentially rural with wild animals, farmers and many unpaved passages and roads inside the village. Here we find many worthwhile restaurants and cafes for a mid-day lunch stop or snack, along with locals selling home-knit goods and handicrafts. The prices are higher here though than in Kotel, reflecting the more popular tourist status of Jeravna. Also, the community features an interesting Bulgarian Revival-Era Orthodox Church, worth visiting both in its interior and outside.
Finally we make our way to the National Reserve of KARANDILA, just North of Sliven. This should best be done in sunny warm weather, as the area reveals its true beauty with blue skies and higher temperatures. It is hiking territory par excellence and here hiking is still a totally unconventional activity. There are no marked trails and certainly nothing in the way of infrastructure catering to hikers or, in the winter, skiers. As we proceed sharply uphill, the view opens up towards the Black Sea and Sliven below, and at the peak at about 800 meters we find a chair lift station from the 1970s but still in working order today. It is a delight in sunny weather to ride the chairlift down to SLIVEN, or rather to the valley station just above the town at 300 meters.
The difference in altitude of about 500 meters can be bridged on the chair lift in about 20 minutes.Sliven, although advertised as the gateway to Karandila with some local attractions, is hardly a beautiful place and features the same run-down communist era industrial cityscape as so many other local towns in Bulgaria. We thus return on the highway towards Burgas basking in the experience of great Bulgarian rural beauty in the Stara Planina mountains yet also aware of the stark contrast between such beauty and the dire poverty of much of its local population.
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