Bulgaria Bulgarian archaeology historic Bulgaria Lion Luv Kardjali town Tatul Perperikon

BULGARIA HEADING FOR KIRKOVO KARDJALI SOUTHERN BULGARIAN RHODOPE MOUNTAIN REGION

MY FIRST VISIT TO BULGARIA!

We landed at Sofia airport at 3am local Bulgarian time. I had organised to stay for the remainder of the night at the Brod hotel in central Sofia near the airport. A young man arrived in his car to pick us up for the short journey to the hotel. The Brod hotel gave us a very clean and comfortable nights sleep. In the morning we enjoyed breakfast and some well needed coffee as we awaited the car we had chosen to rent through the internet from the UK. The car rental company I chose was Sikon Group. At the arranged time, two guys from Sikon car rental arrived with my hire car, a little 1.2 purple Corsa.
I paid them the £100 deposit and the car rental charge was just 18 euros per day inclusive!
We headed out of Sofia and onto the motorway towards Plovdiv. The scenery was pretty flat until we got nearer to Plovdiv and it started to change into hills on the right and flat plain on the left.
We passed by Plovdiv and took the road to Asenovgrad. This road was pitted with pot holes! The other drivers in front appeared to be driving drunk as they slowly swerved around the road in order to avoid the very deep holes! No one drove mad.
We stopped about half way through the road from Asenovgrad to Kardjali at a place high in the mountains with a fresh spring of drinking water flowing and very beautiful scenic area where they had placed some garden table and chairs for tourists and locals to enjoy the very scenic view over the hills and forests!
We took the rest of the journey into Kardjali with caution of the many potholes in the road. Along the way were many animals walking about enjoying the scenery!
Ghandi said 'You can judge a nation by how they treat their animals' well I have never seen such patient people as those I saw in Bulgaria. The animals were free to roam and enjoy the fresh grass and natural spring water coming down from the snowy mountains. Occasionally we saw a cow being led by a rope by the farmer, when the cow wished to nosh some fresh grass, the farmer patiently waited for the cow to be ready to move on!
I also caught on camera the same happening with a horse on a lead!
We were welcomed into Kardjali by Martin a Bulgarian property agent and shown to a very cosy hotel with spectacular view over one of the lakes of the Kardjali region.
The Zarazen hotel was warm and welcoming and the Bulgarian food cooked there delicious! All the vegetables grown in the Bulgarian fertile soil, even the carrots tasted very different and extremely tasty.
Most nights we ate different variations of chicken, and each chicken meal was full of taste and soft like butter. I highly recommend the hotel Zarazen if you are looking for a holiday in the Kardjali region. From Kardjali it is not far to the Greek border, although there are still Bulgarian border patrols stopping you to ask where you are going and they only speak Bulgarian. Luckily for us we were with Dimo a Bulgarian property estate agent or I'm unsure as to whether or not we could have passed! Aparently the Greek border pass is soon to be fully open making the Kardjali region a lovely place to stay for a very relaxing holiday in a totally unspoilt land.
The centre of Kardjali was filled with old high rise blocks of apartments and of the Bulgarians who lived there for the work available. The countryside was full of abandoned derelect houses and forests of pine trees.
There are many houses for sale now in Bulgaria. The houses are very run down and a lot of them are made of mud bricks, the large gardens contain the outside loo with natural seep away septic tanks and running water is usually available in the garden but not in the house itself. Although the houses for sale are very inexpensive, a lot of work would be involved in renovating an old house there and as Bulgaria is in the midst of being renewed, most of the work force there are now busy with house and business projects.
The people of Bulgaria proved to be very peaceful, quiet and friendly people. One day my rent a car battery was flat. Three Bulgarian men all got on their mobile phones to organise some jump leads and another car to jump start mine!
I tried telling them that I could call the car rent company as they insisted they could help me quicker and they did!
The Bulgarians couldn't do enough for us throughout our stay and I returned to the UK thrilled at how these people treated their animals with such care and devotion! Such a different story in Greece, their neighbours!
Bulgaria is a country full of natural running clean and fresh springs and the entire country are eco friendly. The forests are very well maintained and cutting down a tree at the wrong time and not replanting is a huge no go!
Bulgaria for the best eco holiday on earth! Where the animals are free to roam
Bulgarian Castles where the Englishman's Home is his Castle!

SHOPPING in BULGARIA
There are many markets in the villages of Bulgaria. Apart from the well stocked markets, there are also frequent delivery vans, delivering to your doorstep a variety of foods, vegetables, pots n pans etc! The markets offer extremely cheap purchases, so if you're looking to go shopping while in Bulgaria, the markets your oyster!
The main market square in the old part of Kardjali, is currently being revamped to have a spectacular roof offering the new under cover market! I have photos of the market place under construction and will continue to take photos as the development develops!
The supermarkets all stock a wide variety of food stuffs, although some is obviously unrecognisable by us, the foods offered are cheap and some English style foods are available even in the smaller more remote villages! You won't go hungry!

ARCHAEOLOGY in BULGARIA
Bulgaria is full of archaeological sites now being rediscovered by teams of archaeologists from all over. The important holy temple at Perperikon is one such archaeological digs site we have visited. We intend to visit as many archaeological sites as we can, we did visit the Tomb of Tatul, photos coming soon. When we arrived at the archaeological site of Perperikon, there was a camera crew and many working on the new digs, new finds of ancient jewellery and other artifacts.
To visit the site of Perperikon, attempt the climb in the cool of the day, or off season as it is a strenuous climb up to the top of the hill that is the ancient temple site of Perperikon. So far I have put a few pages of photos from this lovely site well worthy of a visit or two! We intend to return once the digs have finished around the temples tower so we can photograph the tower in more detail and enjoy the archaeological site without leaking!

DOCTORS and MEDICAL CARE in BULGARIA - using natural age old remedies to cure
I have a great need for doctors due to a neck injury I sustained in an accident. In the UK after being treated for psychological problems that were non existent according to the psychiatrist, I was finally given the treatment. Numbing injections into my neck and shoulders. Since I have been in Bulgaria I have had numerous episodes of extreme pain due to the lack of these injections and had to visit the local hospitals. Although you can purchase medicines over the counter in the chemist, a visit to the doctor is often necessary.
Each time I am given medicines, obviously written in Bulgarian, I check the name on the internet and research before I take the prescribed pills, each time I am extremely shocked. The medicines you are most often prescribed here are natural, herbal homeopathic medicines!
My health has improved remarkably!
I have had a problem with a dropped shoulder since the accident, the doctors in the UK asked me what I would expect at my age (47), plus in order to get to see a UK specialist you must wait a long time, to see a Bulgarian specialist in the hospital is immediate plus very cheap! See the cost of this treatment below.
On one visit to a specialist in a private clinic, he looked from one shoulder to the other and, I thought was just checking their alignment with his arms, that was until he quite brutally forced his arms down heavy on both my shoulders, causing me to almost drop to the floor and put me in quite a state of shock. He proceeded to tell my interpreter that my reaction was 'quite normal'!
It has been a week since that episode, and over that week I have experienced much pain, an almost drunk like state and flashing lights, due to the previous injury on my brachial plexus (nerves from neck spine down throo arm into hand).
Today, I feel extremely good, extremely full of life and after taking the Tilcotil vitamines prescribed for me and looking at my shoulder alignment in the mirror, all I can say is that I am a new woman! My shoulders, even at my age, are now equal, my neck looks normal again, I am walking in straight lines, my eyes are happily open and not looking so strained, I feel good! In one violent blow I am once again a straight woman!

The cost of all this treatment?
I paid 20 leva for two x-rays, 15 leva to see the private consultant plus 15 leva for two sets of pills.