The Rhodopi Mountains: Smolyan

Some images of Smolyan, the largest city in the Rhodopis. Right now, it is connected to the rest of Bulgaria by a two-lane highway. I have heard talk of making a freeway through from Plovdiv to Smolyan and that would change the area considerably.

We had the unique opportunity to meet a woman named Maria, a friend of Tanya Kosteva's, who worked with the Rhodopi state folk and dance ensemble, and who also turns out to be the cousin of the Kushlevi sisters! One of my most favorite singing groups of all times! How did I find this out? We were touring the ethnographic museum together and she began to sing one of the songs from the record I have of the Kushlevi sisters and I recognized it! We were the only people in the museum and even her little snippit of song sounded wonderful in the echoey marble chambers where the exhibits are housed. So, of course, I asked her about how she knew the song!

The museum, by the way, was also a nice surprise. The exhibits cover early Thracian history to more recent 19th and 20th century life in the Rhodopi area. We saw a fantastic collection of Kukuri costumes (like scary, masked, dark, abominable snowmen), wedding flags (they look like colorful, wool donuts on a stick), brightly colored textiles, metal working and woodworking. The also had a large collection of ancient ceramics, including some interesting 16th-18th century Muslim headstones with Christian crosses underneath. The museum certainly doesn't get the number of visitors it deserves. It is really worth seeing.

The last two pictures are from the new Smolyan Temple: St. Vissarion of Smolyan, named for a martyr of the Christian faith during the Ottoman Turkish rule (~1670). It is very large, the largest in all of South Bulgaria, and second largest in the country. Most impressive! As it is new, it is all white and not coated with the centuries of candle smoke on the walls which has, of course, the result of darkening everything it touches. I know they are raising money to paint murals and icons throughout the church walls inside, but I have to admit to enjoying the stark whiteness in contrast with the beautiful, dark, wood carvings, golden chandelier, colorful iconostasis, red and gold carpet and marble floors. In 2006, when it opened, the town was flooded with pilgrims. However, when we were there (3 years later), it was much less crowded so that you really could quietly meditate and appreciate the holiness the sactuary is meant to instill upon you. Either way, the church is a fantastic site to see.