Most tourists end up visiting at least the so called "Kazanlak Thracian Tomb" which is probably the most well known in and out of Bulgaria.  The Kazanlak Tomb is located about 1 – 1.5km from the center of town in its North East part in a hilly neighborhood known as "Тюлбето” (Tiulbeto).  It is about 15min walking distance from the central square of the town, or you could drive there (about 5min).  The tomb is open between 9am and 5pm and if you go to Kazanlak in the winter or spring, the tomb is open only for large groups.

If you would like to try your skills you could even check on current conditions and status via phone +359 – 431 63762 (359 is the code for dialing Bulgaria — assuming you are using your overseas mobile phone even while in Bulgaria)

The second tomb we recommend you try to visit is "Goliamata Kosmatka"  (which was the topic of our previous blog posting).  The tomb is located well outside of Kazanlak on the road to Shipka / North West of town.  If you are driving yourself, just take the road to Shipka (also the same road that will take you through the Shipka mountain pass to the town of Gabrovo and Northern Bulgaria).  Once you leave Kazanlak, you will pass by the village of Krqn and next you should look for the brown color signs on the road — they announce the various tombs in the valley.  You should see a turn off for the Goliamata Kosmakta tomb (mogila) well before you reach the village of Shipka – it will be a left turn if coming from Kazanlak

If you desire to do some good exercise and if the weather is nice you could take a 2 hour hike to the tomb (from downtown Kazanlak) – the distance is about 12km (0.8miles).

I need to point out also that in each / or most of the tombs you could request a guided tour – where you will hear narrative from a lecturer from the Kazanlak ISKRA museum — an excellent museum in Kazanlak hosting a large number of exhibits on the topic of Thracian culture as well as Bulgarian art, etc. 

Here is a link to the museum — limited information but still…. http://museum.starazagora.net/English/others/EKazanluk.html

And another link http://kazanlaktour.com/en/index.php?s=30

(The museum ISKRA is located about 5 min walk from the main town square)

Well we hope this is useful for your adventures in the VALLEY OF THRACIAN KINGS!  

Next, will bring you a recommendation for a place to go see how the famous rose oil is made and enjoy a beautiful rose garden….

So about the "Goliama Kosmatka" tomb (in Bulgarian the formations that contain these tombs are called "MOGILA" – sort of the meaning of a small HILL):

Goliamata Kosmatka was discovered in the Fall of 2004 during one of the expeditions in the Kazanlak region.  The hill was first created in the first half of the 5th century B.C. as a sacred hill (sort of a temple) and then in the 2nd half of the 5th century B.C. a temple was built using granite blocks (very big blocks mind you — as you see in the photos below)

The temple consists of three sections – a rectangular room, followed by a circular room, followed by a sarcophagus room carved out of a single HUGE granite block with weight of approximately 60-tons

The temple is thought of first being used for about 100 years by the Thracian priests which kept their mysteries alive by locking the inner circular room from inside during their ceremonies.

At the start of 3rd century B.C. the temple is thought of becoming a tomb for Sevt the III.  The tomb contained coins with the liking of a bronse head discovered about 7m from the tomb chamber at the entrance of the mogila/tomb.  Also discovered were a golden wreath (symbol of a king), as well as other gold ornaments and cups.  Also discovered were three amphorae two of which were from the island of Taos, with seals noting manufacture in the begining of the 3rd century B.C., additionally a metal armor was discovered and the helmet has an inscription in Greek meaning "SEVT's"

All in all majority of the discovered artifacts point to the time of SEVT III's rule hence this tomb has been associated with his most likely burial site.

Long story short, the place is very interesting. If you are into traditional old style Bulgarian architecture this is one of the places to see it…..

Take a look at the photos….and have a good trip!

The village demonstrates traditional Bulgarian artisan crafts and the tools and workshops used in the last couple of centuries in the Gabrovo region of the country. Some of the workshops’ tools are powered by water – essentially the old artisans diverted water from the near by rivers and powered tools like

• sharpening stones
• mill stones
• old style washing machines (for carpets, blankets, etc)
• wood working milling machines
• even a machine for weaving

The museum also demonstrates several styles of Bulgarian architecture as well as unique stone plate covered roofs. Also you can observe a roof implemented from half tree trunks interlocked by carving the middle of the trunks

Here are some images from the museum — you can see the houses and workshops / village streets, as well as the famous Clock Tower of the village (most bigger Bulgarian villages and towns of the 18th, 19th century had those clock towers in the village center/square):

At Old Village Etara in Bulgaria

While at the museum you can also purchase some actual crafts done by the local artisans — things like jewelry (my mother in law purchased a nice silver ring), rugs (kilim style), wood carvings, paintings, and of course some local delicacies.

Near by the entrance of the museum you can stop for lunch in the local hotel restaurant. The food is very good – featuring traditional Bulgarian dishes and of course excellent beer.

The town which used to be the capital of the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom is located on several large hills on both sides of the river Iantra (река Янтра). The 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom lasted between 1185 and the end of the 14th century at which time the Ottoman Empire conquered Bulgaria. One of the key places to visit while in Veliko Tqrnovo is the restored fortress on the Tzarevetz hill.

(me at the gate of the Tzarevetz fortress)
Some directions of getting to Tzarevetz — we approached Veliko Tqrnovo from Shumen. As you enter in the city look for signs (in brown color — denoting a national park) for Tzarevetz. There will be plenty of those. Eventually you will pass through the new town and enter the older part of Veliko Tqrnovo. This is the more interesting part anyway, but the streets are quite narrow, so if you are driving pay attention to oncoming traffic. In some cases you will have to move to the side (behind parked on the street cars) and wait for the oncoming traffic to pass. Sounds tedious, but this is part of the fun

Once you get to the parking lot right in-front of the Tzarevetz fortress entrance you could visit a small restaurant located right in-front of you if your right hand shoulder is pointing at the entrance of the fortress. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant, but you won’t miss it — the parking lot is tiny. The fee for parking by the way should be in the range of 2 leva for 3 hours.

The fortress museum is open daily till 7pm. It is an interesting place to visit and also a place where you could do some serious hiking up and down the trail along the fortress walls or climbing the hill to the church on top of if. Here are some more photos from the town:

View towards the old town from Tzarevetz;

* Ways to get to the area (via Car)

* Places to Eat (and which to avoid)

* Hotel info

We embarked on our journey to Varna and Golden Sands from the area of the Valley of Roses (the city of Kazanlak). We started driving towards Burgas – our plan was to travel via Nessebar (we had planned to meet someone briefly in Nessebar). Along the road, once you approach the town of Karnobat you will get on a nice new divided highway. As you travel along you need to pay attention for the signs for Varna, Sunny Beach. That exit will be about 20 miles after you get on the . We missed the exit and had to turn around and travel about 15 miles before we can find an exit to turn back towards Burgas.

Once you exit you will travel for about 3 miles on a small road, and eventually you will see signs for Sunny Beach. This is a small road as well (in not very good repair) but it will save you tons of time (if you end up going to Burgas and then heading North to Ravda and Sunny beach it won’t be the end of the world but you will have a lot more traffic congestion)

After Nessebar and Sunny Beach the highway starts going through the Balkans — you need to cross the mountains on your way to Varna and Golden Sands. You should plan on one and a half hours at least from Sunny beach to Varna.

We had reserved room in the Kempinski hotel in the Golden Sands resourt. Here is a map to its location

The hotel is one of the three Kempinski locations in Bulgaria. Last year we stayed in the Kempinski in Bansko (here is a link to my blog entry from last year). We were very happy with the hotel last year so, why not , we decided to be guests of the chain again…..

The hotel is very nice, the grounds are beautiful, just one word of caution, the included breakfast (included in the room rate) is not that great. Turns out all rooms have the breakfast included. As a result it is relatively generic one — eggs, hams, cheese, bread, vegetables, juice….but not the best quality. It is filling just not that exciting. The breakfast at the Bansko hotel was much better.

Some photos from the Kempinski
With regard to place to eat (outside of the hotel) you may want to avoid the promenade just between the Kempinski and the beach. There are plenty of restaurants there but they are just overpriced and not that good. Yes, they are convenient (if you need to have a quick bite at lunch while near the beach), but in the evening you may want to head to Varna or to near by Kranevo (north of Golden Sands).

Here is a good restaurant — Restaurant Milev. To find it just head along the road towards Kranevo, Albena, Balchik. It will be on your right hand side in a restored old house a few hundred yards after you enter Kranevo.

Here are some pictures from it:

All in all we had a pretty good time in the area. Spend three days at the beach, managed to see some of the surrounding area, had good food… Following the stay at the Golden Sands we decided to return to Kazanlak via the Northern route — Varna to Shumen to Veliko Tqrnovo (the capital of the second Bulgarian kingdom), to Gabrovo and across the Shipka mountain pass to Kazanlak. More on that and of course great pictures from Veliko Tqrnovo in the next posting. Stay tuned…

Kazanlak is famous for several things:

• The Thracian Tomb – a UNESCO protected site dating back to 4th century B.C. Here is a link to a detailed description of the architecture of the Tomb
• The Rose Festival and the Valley of Roses — the city is located in this famous rose growing region of Bulgaria. Based on information I heard in Kazanlak, the Rose Valley produces some 70% of the world’s supply of rose oil – essential component in perfumes;

Here are some images from the region of Kazanlak to give you some idea of the area and local color:

Entrance to the Thracian Tomb View of the old town of Kazanlak (from a hotel terrace)

view from one of the suburbs of Kazanlak Another vew from a hotel terrace

Near the town of Kazanlak is the Shipka mountain pass (a pass allowing you to cross the Balkan range and go from Northern into Southern Bulgaria). The Shipka pass is famous for a huge battle fought during the Rusia-Turkey Liberation War (1877-1878) – a war that lead to the liberation of Bulgaria. A big monument reminds the visitors of the fierce battle fought during July and August 1877. Today you can also visit a great chirch – Храм-паметник „Рождество Христово“
(in Bulgarian) which is a great example of East Orthdox (sometimes refered to as Greek or Bulgarian Orthodox) architecture. The village of Shipka (near-by where is the chirch) is several miles to the North-west of Kazanlak, while the mountain pass is high in the Balkan range (above Kazanlak) at about 1300 meters (4000 feet) elevation.

If you go to the mountani pass location you could also sample some “Bivolsko mylako” – yogurt produced from water buffalo milk. It is very good and rich tasting type of yogurt (you could also purchase just milk).

Aside from these monuments, you can just enjoy the beautiful mountains and country side and also visit a big dam (the Koprinka dam) on the bottom of which is the ancient town of Seuthopolis (currently under water but the local government is creating plans and gathering funds to uncover and preserve the ancient town and site. Here is a an image (courtesy of the local government – obshtina Kazanlak) of the project concept:

If you would like further informaton on this area of the country please contact us. Happy travels!

Today Nessebar is one of the well developed beach resorts in Bulgaria. You can find here both modern hotels as well as rent a room or a complete old house / villa.

If you rent a house/appartment, you can get deals in the range of US$50 (for 2 people renting an appartment in the new town) per day…or US$60 for 3 people for an appartment. So you can get a good deal.

Then, there is the new trend — buying a holiday property in Bulgaria. To give you some idea, a 2-bedroom appartment about 60 square meters / 600 square feet, will set you back about 40K euros.

At the same time a similar appartment further south along the Black Sea coast — in Sozopol (a place I like as well) will be slightly more pricey — at about 45K euros.

Then for a comparison you should consider a similar size appartment in one of he major cities of Northern Bulgaria – Pleven. There the prices are in the range of 20K to 30K euros (approximately)….So, the Black Sea coast is a desirable place…

We had booked an all inclusive stay at the Nessebar IFA hotel (I believe this was a German hotel chain). The all inclusive meant meals and hotel rooms for all of us were included.

The hotel was located South of the old town of Nessebar in the newer section of town. Nevertheless it was not far away (within 10 minutes driving) from the ancient (what used to be B.C. era — as I understand approximately 550 B.C.) town. Here are some images from the town:

We stayed for 4 days and enjoyed both the sea beaches as well as the hotel pools and entertainment. One of the afternoons we visited the old town (where the photos are from) but more of the time we spent relaxing on the beach or at the pool area. Not bad after all…