There are 19 settlements on the territory of the municipality of Madjarovo. Until recently the basic way of living was the extraction of ore. The town itself used to be proud with its status of a mining capital. For many years zinc, quick silver, copper and lead were extracted here…But like the Thracians, the present day Bulgarians living here saw the end of mining. The prosperity of the 1970s, when the population was about 8000, is today only a fainting memory.

I am walking on a path above the village of Gorno pole. Stones of different color sparkle in my feet from time to time. In them, in a strange embrace, combine particles of opal, crystals, jet, and amethyst… There is no one among the local people who does not know that the region is rich in precious stones. The small village is situated 10 km off Madjarovo, above the town. The view from above, from the rocks, is fantastic. Below is a rock split into two. A strange fate, the result of imagination of nature and the intervention of human acts… Below, in the low land, the Arda River meanders round the dead two-crater volcano. There lies the town of Madjarovo.

There are rocks all around. The legend goes that during the Turkish oppression a young girl chose to throw herself from them to keep her faith and honor. This is why one of the rocks is called Momina skala.

It is known that Christianity was established here in the 10th c. Proofs of that are the remains of an early Christian church discovered on one of the peaks. But in the town of Madjarovo itself there is no church.

During the Middle Ages here passed the defense line of the border Byzantine region called Ahrida. From the ruins of stone fortresses on the peaks around has remained only the largest one, near the peak of Okopa, the highest peak in the region.

Later, during the time of the Turkish oppression, was built an Islamic school. Today the population of the municipality consists of Bulgarians and Turks, the Bulgarians slightly prevailing.

Near the temple of “St. Petka of Bulgaria”, built before the 10th c., is situated the Center for Natural Protection “Eastern Rhodopes”, built on a Swiss program for protection of biological diversity, executed by the Bulgarian Society for Bird Protection. The idea is to protect the unique natural diversity of the region. A short walk leads to a hill, which discovers a magnificent view. I am standing on the rock, rising above the right bank of the Arda River, watching the opposite bank above which rise old proud rocks. There are 5 protected areas in the municipality, four of them can be seen from where I stand – Momina skala, Kovan kaya, Black rock, and Patron kaya. Unique rocky landscapes, rare species of plants and an exciting encounter with birds nesting here. Somewhere over there, on the opposite side, there are white-headed vultures, rock eagles, black storks, Egyptian vultures, royal eagles hover above the rocks… In the past the people believed that the royal eagle was scared. They believed that only with its help they could drive away the storms and hail and thus preserve their harvest for, if you look at the eagle from behind, it looks like carrying a cross. In those times no one hunted for it. It is a pity that today the royal eagle is among the endangered species.

There are almost no caves here. If there are some, they are small and are actually volcanic breaks. Near the Iron bridge in the territory of Dolno Cherkovishte is situated the Pop Martin cave. In the past here, on the old route along the Arda River, passed the Turkish caravans. They were often attacked by bandits lead by the priest Martin. The legend says that a large part of the taxes of the empire traveling to Edirne were confiscated. The gold of the Turkish Empire was buried and kept in these caves. Nobody has found it so far… To the west, at the back of Patron kaya, is situated the protected area of Gyurgen dere. There lives the largest colony of bats in Europe, which have no Bulgarian name. The same is true of the about thirty spices of rare plants on the territory, which also have no Bulgarian names. This is no reason for the municipality of Madjarovo to try and build its present looking to the future. There are favorable conditions for tourism – beautiful nature, exceptionally rich biological resources, thermal springs along the Arda River, rich historical and cultural heritage, unstudied Thracian temples… People hope to receive financing through European projects, the SAPARD Program… and the help of the state, which has to take care of the badly kept roads. Only then the road to Madjarovo will be found. Not only by us, Bulgarians. And not only in the legends.

Roumen Stoichkov