Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Thracian Tombing: Exploring the Graves
of Europe's First Civilization
The area around the otherwise dull town of Kazanluk is dotted with an esti-
mated 1,500 burial mounds, or mogili; with each excavation more is
revealed about the advanced craftsmanship of the Thracians—the most
recent, in August 2006, was a 5,000-year-old dagger, made from a superior
alloy of gold and platinum.
You can arrange a private tour of some of these tombs through Kazan-
luk-based Iskra Historical Museum (Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm; & 0431/63762;
15lev/$10/£5.20 per tomb includes and English-speaking guide. If you have
problems, ask to speak to Dr. Kosyo Zarev, director of the museum).
If you need to spend the night in Kazanluk (and you will if you're visiting
more than one tomb), the most interesting option is the 19th-century Hadji
Eminova kushta ( & 0431/62595; 25lev-50lev/$16-$32/£8.65-£17). Part of
the Ethnographic Museum Complex, it's an authentic house “museum” with
a choice of four rooms ranged along the porch. All are traditionally fur-
nished and feature wonderful carved ceilings; bathrooms are clean but old,
dating from 1976 when the municipal authorities installed them (showers
okay; tubs unusable). Ask for no. 11 or no 14, which are both very spacious.
Note that Mr. Dimitros, the charming manager, speaks very little English.
Alternatively, the best hotel in town is the Palas, located right in the center,
and the place where the local money celebrates nuptials and the like. Decor
is pretty kitsch (how else to describe a plastic rose on pillow) but the staff
young and helpful ( &
0431/62311; www.hotel-palas.com; 96lev/$61/£33
double).
6 Veliko Tarnovo & Environs
Veliko Tarnovo 220km (137 miles) from Sofia; 226km (140 miles) from Varna
Veliko Tarnovo, capital of Bulgaria's Second Kingdom from 1185 to 1396, was glori-
fied in European circles as “the third city after Rome and the second after Constan-
tinople.” Today it is more tiny university town than city, and while it does not have
the obvious architectural splendors of more famous Plovdiv, it is in some senses an
even more charming destination, surrounded by a wild natural environment that
remains within view even when you're in its urban heart. The imposing medieval
citadel of Tsarevets, perched on its own hill from where it glowers down upon the
inhabitants it once enclosed, is the town's top sight. From here the lazy Yantra River
curls into the guiding arms of the white limestone cliffs from which narrow red-roofed
buildings rise precipitously along one bank to gaze back at the densely vegetated and
virtually unpopulated hillsides opposite. It is this undulating green backdrop that
gives the place its charm, but it is during the languid summer evenings that the city
really comes into its own. Sitting on the cantilevered balcony of one of the city's
restaurants as the setting sun turns the narrow dwellings stacked below a soft, pale
pink, watching as thousands of birds come out to ride the thermal waves, swooping
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