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  Once upon a time, in a time which no one remembers any more, in a distant country, called Persia, a powerful shah ruled. His beloved wife died, but granted him, his biggest wealth – his lovely daughter, who loved her father more than anything in the world and took care of the endless rose garden. After a glorious battle the shah decided to mark his triumph in a grandiose manner. He wanted to build a mosque so high, that the whole valley could be seen from its minaret. No one from the masons in the kingdom dared to try the audacious work, because the anger of the ruler was tremendous. Just one stranger from Bulgaria decided to try his luck. He started the great construction, but felt his strengths diminish. Right on the first day he managed to raise a high wall, which reviled magnificent view towards the garden, and the rose aroma reached his senses. This work gave him unsuspected strengths and he continued placing stone over stone during the whole night. When in the morning the sun rose, the young man managed to see the whole garden and right in the middle he noticed the exquisite young daughter of the shah, who picked up the rose blossom and softly sang.

  Than the young man became even more determined to complete his work, as he already knew what would be the praise he would ask from the ruler. The brave mason was not missed from the sight of the girl and stayed forever in her heart. On the third day the mosque was ready and the time for the reward came. However, when the young man asked the hand of the exquisite girl, the shah was driven mad and threw the young man in dungeon. But the daughter already stopped recognizing her father’s will. She let out the young man from jail during the night and ran away to his country. She only took one single rose shrub to remind her of her motherland. However the way turned out to be too heard for the fragile girl and her strengths left her.

  Every Bulgarian has heard of Perperikon. This incredible historical monument is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, known as a cradle of megalithic culture. The region is a unique combination of historical monuments from antiquity to nowadays, unique nature phenomena, immense lakes, pictorial rivers. Bulgarian scholars have announced that they shall try to defend the hypothesis that the rock sanctuaries in the Eastern Rhodopes are more ancient than the Egyptian pyramids. Revealing the mysteries of this mountain region becomes more and more attractive for tourists. And the Thracian miracle Perperikon is still a free tourist attraction.

  The project named “The Road of Gods, the Road of Gold, and the Way of People” is financed by a program of PHARE, namely “Development of the Bulgarian Cultural Tourism”. The project amounts to 131 690 Euros. It is managed in partnership of the municipalities of Kardzhali and Ardino. The goal of this project is to contribute to the development of Eastern Rhodopes as a tourist destination, through making and promoting tourist products based on the archeological and nature wealth of the region, as well as on the regeneration of the old trade roads. The project includes Perperikon, Diavolski Most (Devil’s Bridge), the museum in Ardino, a route through the old road of camels, the river valley of Arda, various attractions of Kardzhali dam lake, etc. The destination is being advertised on the national and international market, through full range of printed advertising materials, a video clip and a film, a CD, and a website.

   There are numerous caves, opened for visitors in Bulgaria. All of them are unique and one of the kinds with its cave world, inhabitants, formations, flowers and sounds. I had the chance to visit some caves, but every time with huge groups, which kills huge part of the underground experience. However, not long ago I decided to visit to the Magura cave, which is situated in northwestern Bulgaria, 180 km away from Sofia and 35 km southwest of Vidin town, just 2 km away from Rabisha village.

   Me and my colleague from VisitBulgaria.NET decided to visit the cave on our way back from a business trip to Vidin. It was a weekday and for my happiness there were no loud crowds in front of the cave. In fact we were the only visitors of the day, until the moment, which made the curators of the cave wonder whether to let us in. In the end we managed to find a decision and so we were let in all alone, which was a dream come true for me. Alone in the underworlds, where I can stretch my stand and take pictures at large, without being bothered by other tourists.

  Among the hardly accessible pinnacles of the Vratsa Balkan, almost 10 km south of Vratsa and 3 km one from other are situated the picturesque mountain hamlets Pavolche and Chelopek. Except for the beautiful nature and the hospitable people, the region around the villages is a historical site. 10 km up in the mountain are the Okolchitsa peak and the Iolkovitsa hollow, where the famous poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev died in his last battle with the enslaver. The whole territory of the Vratsa Balkan remembers the epic battles of a handful of revolutionaries against the multiple ottoman hordes. Numerous crosses are rising above the rocky peaks, to remind of the heroism and memory of the dedicated fighters for freedom. This magnetic region, filled with history, legends and tales, inspired the great Bulgarian writers Ivan Vazov and Aleko Konstantinov.

  A lot of time is needed for a man to travel around and get to know this unique site and the participants on the march “Following the steps of the Boteva detachment”, say that every time they do the march, they rediscover these sites. Even the short time I have planned for my visit to Pavolche, Chelopek, Okolchitsa and the Cherepishki Monastery was enough for me to feel their charm and glamour.

  It was early in the morning when I parked on the central square of Chelopek village, in front of “St. Dimitar” church and the house museum of Baba Iliica. The village stays forever in history, because of this woman, who passed a lot of misadventures, to save the life of a survived revolutionary. The story is described in details in the “Edna Bulgarka” tale by Ivan Vazov.

  Holiday estates’ market in Bulgaria has just started developing. According to some estimates, prices are expected to go down because of surplus offering. However, foreign investors think that our country’s market of Holiday estates will continue developing in the following several years. They say that the recently discussed over saturation of market is not likely to take place.

  Bulgaria is compared to Spain in terms of real estates market development, as a tourist destination, and in terms of its turning into a golf destination.

  Holiday estates market in Bulgaria has just started opening towards the other European countries. Our country meets all requirements for tourism development, such as favorable nature and experienced professionals. In spite of that, the sector has some basic problems that are to be overcome: improvement of infrastructure, bureaucracy, etc. The country and businessmen have to constantly take into consideration the tourist’ demands, since the market is constantly changing – say contractors.

   There is hardly a Bulgarian who hasn’t seen Kovachevitsa, if only on TV… There is no other village where more than 20 Bulgarian movies have been filmed. Kovachevitsa is located along the rived valley of river Kanina (the Blood river) in the south-eastern part of the Rhodopes. The village is declared historical and natural reserve in 1977. The village first came to exist because of the violence used on the Bulgarian population during the forceful conversion to Islam in the period 1623-1625 and later when Bulgarians who were unwilling to convert left their homes and found salvation and asylum in the high mountains. Initially a few neighborhoods came to existence, mainly formed on family basis, consisting of refugees who had come from near and far. In the XVIIIth century refugees from Western Macedonia also settled there. The neighborhoods were grouped around the spring (now called “Tsigantchitsa”) where the blacksmith Marko used to live. After his demise his wife Gina became responsible for the survival of his family. When friends or relatives from the nearby villages traveled to her, they simply used to say “we are going to visit Kovachevitsa” (in Bulgarian “Kovachevitsa” literally means “the wife of the blacksmith”). The legend tells that this is how the name of the village actually originated. For the entire duration of the Turkish jug there was no Turkish administration in the village. During the renaissance the village used to be a center of the education and church activity in the region of Nevrokop.

  Some sage advice for classical music lovers in Bulgaria: make plans to spend as much time as possible in Plovdiv this June. With the International Festival of Opera Arts, the International Festival of Chamber Music and the Festival of Old Town Songs, life cannot get much better for music fans. And for those even just a bit curious, there is plenty going on in Plovdiv (in additional to its usually vibrant art scene) this summer to make a visit worthwhile.

  Posters all along the glavnata, or Plovdiv’s main drag, Knyaz Alexander, will provide plenty of information about summer town happenings even for the geographically challenged. But get yourself to the “poshta”, and you’ll spot the ever-helpful Tourist Information Centre of Plovdiv municipality, where their experts can direct you to anything you’ll need during your time in Plovdiv. And if you’re lucky, Frantz Kadiri, senior expert at the Tourist Information Centre, will be on duty, sharing with inquirers at the centre all the insight one gains from growing up in Plovdiv.

   The extension of Sofia's sole underground line to the residential district of Mladost is progressing according to schedule, the city's deputy mayor in charge of transport Velizar Stoilov said on Friday.

  Japan's Taisei Corporation, which won the tender to build the extension, is working simultaneously to reinforce the downtown station at Sheraton hotel and the new station at the Sofia University.

  At the same time, one of the two tunnels between the university and the station at the national stadium has been completed, Stoilov said.

   Bulgarian export grew at much higher rates than the one in most new EU member states, recent economic report of the World Bank (WB) showed.

  WB's report is named EU 8+2 and provides data on the eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe that joined EU in 2004, excluding Malta and Cyprus. The report also has information on Bulgaria and Romania.

  Bulgaria exports mainly to the 15 oldest EU member states. Its export to newer union members also increased, investor.bg reported.

   Bulgaria is a small country and I have spent all my life here, I have traveled all over the country and still, I have the feeling that I haven’t seen it all. Not long ago northwestern Bulgaria was just a bare geographic idea for me. But so it happened that I found myself in Vidin. The occasion was the first sod of the Danube Bridge II.

  I reached the town by car along the way from Sofia, not the way I have always wanted it to be – by boat along the Danube River from Vienna for example. But I know that I have time enough for that. I was forced to bear the whole ceremony and the pompous speeches of the official guests, and all this combined with the burning sun and heat around noon, which completely exhausted me. I couldn’t wait the end of the event, together with the other colleagues, photographers and cameramen, and only the though that I will come back here again in the far 2010, when the bridge will be finally constructed and will connect the dreams of the thousands of residents of the region with their dreams for a better future, relived me. This will happen after three years, and as I was already in Vidin, I couldn’t wait for the end of the ceremony to make my way and examine the town. I was helped with this initiative by my colleague from the www.Visitbulgaria.NET team, who was born and raised in Vidin.

  Most tourism brochures describe Vidin as a town with rich history and unique cultural monuments, which in fact could be said for almost every town in Bulgaria. For me Vidin could be generally described with three things: “Baba Vida Fortress”, the walking alley nearby the Danube River and the crystal blue Danube. I don’t know how the town looks during all four seasons, but when I was there, by the end of the spring, the waters of the Danube River were really sapphire. I will also never forget the delicious fish from the Danube River that was prepared by my colleague’s mom.