The Madara Rider, representing the figure of a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a 100-m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north-east Bulgaria. Madara was the principal sacred place of the First Bulgarian Empire before Bulgaria’s conversion to Christianity in the 9th century. The inscriptions beside the sculpture tell of events that occurred between AD 705 and 801. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Madara Horseman & Fortress
with Angel Jordanov

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Travellers in the vicinity of Gaburnitsa can visit 26 archaeological sights, 8 ancient churches, 185 monuments and 6 museums. Special attraction is the ancient hilltop fortress of “Ovech”. It was built first for defence but soon turned into a larger settlement. It has been conquered by Knights, Turks and Russian soldiers. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom Ovech was an important administrative and strategic centre. King Peter the Second stayed here while hunting in the area. At the end of the 16th century the fortress fell into decay. It has been reconstructed under the EU pre-accession “Phare” program after an initiative of Provadia municipality and nowadays it is visited by many tourists.

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Located 18 km west of Varna is Pobitite Kamani or "the petrified forest". One of the most incredible natural phenomena in Bulgaria. It consists of 14 groups of natural rock formations, located in the “small stone desert” in the eastern part of the Varna lowland. Formed some 50 million years ago, Pobitite Kamani’s origin has been the debate subject of many scientists and lay people. There are several theories regarding the phenomenon's origin, divided roughly into two groups --- supporting an organic or a mineral origin --- the formations are the result of some coral activity, or the prismatic weathering of the rocks, the formation of sand and limestone concretions of the  lower Eocene bubbling reefs --- or , as some of the stones have a zoomorphic and anthropomorphic profiles, many of them were places of worship or consecrated grounds during Thracian, Slavonic, and ancient Bulgarian times. It is easy to see phallic symbols of a sexual nature, temples or fossil trees but sorry, they are none of these. However, they are a fantastic place to visit.

Pobitite Kamani

"The Petrified Forest"
 

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