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18 km. northeast of the city of Kardzhali is the Perperikon Archaeological Complex. An asphalt road leads to the foot of a rocky peak, on which the main sites of the largest megalithic monument in Bulgaria are located.

What attracted ancient people to this place in the middle of the Perpereshka River valley! The combination of water, fertile soil and rocks reaching into the sky or something that we have no sense of today! Whatever it was, it made people bring gifts in clay vessels, clay figurines, stone tools, place them in natural rock crevices, calling them to the gods from the end of the 5th millennium BC.

In the late Bronze Age, 2nd millennium BC. the sacred place was rediscovered. The practice of new cult practices and rituals began. A huge cult complex, carved into the rocks, began to take shape over the centuries, including hundreds of rooms, and thousands of tons of stone were removed. Towards the end of the old and the first centuries of the new era, the city acquired its completed form. It consisted of a fortress on the top, the Acropolis; a fortified Palace-sanctuary, as well as northern and southern suburbs

A natural rock fault, shaped like a corridor with steps on the floor, starts from the base of the rock crown and leads to the fortress wall surrounding the Palace - a sanctuary. On an area of ​​several thousand square meters. there are several dozen rooms connected by corridors and staircases. A wide corridor divides the Palace into two asymmetrical parts. The western one is occupied by smaller one-story rooms. To the east, a representative hall with a wide vestibule develops, in the western part of which there is a throne carved into the rocks. To the east, due to displacement, two floors carved into the rocks develop. To the northeast, a wing develops, in which some of the earliest carvings are located - three oven-shaped niches with increasing size to the north. The northwestern part of the complex is occupied by a monumental room, oval in shape, without a roof. In the very center, a pyramidal pedestal is carved, ending with a majestic round altar, with an approximate diameter of 2.50 m., the surface of which is scorched by multiple fires. This hall was the heart of the famous sanctuary of Dionysus-Zagreus, in which oracles were performed, according to the testimony of Herodotus. Here, according to the story of Suetonius, the father of Octavian Augustus received a prediction about the future of his son. The author says that when the priest poured wine on the burning fire, the flame rose as high as when Alexander the Great was in the sanctuary centuries ago.

Recent research has revealed two extremely interesting buildings located at the southern foot of the hill - a large three-aisled basilica from the mid-5th century to the 14th century, rebuilt many times, and a cistern carved into the rocks, providing water for the southern quarter.

In recent years, the fortress on the top - the Acropolis - was finally explored. It was built on the remains of the ancient sanctuary that encompassed the whole ridge. A number of rock altars from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age are organically included into the rudiments of the built structures. The wall built from carefully shaped stone blocks, is 2.5m thick. It covers the top from all sides, along the route and are preserved rudiments of towers other fortifications. The fortress had three entrances. Particularly monumental is the South gate, which is carved into the monolithic rock. The fortified area was occupied by residential and public buildings, separated by streets carved into the rocks. The central part is occupied by the town square. In its eastern part was uncovered a basilica building carved into the rocks. Originated as a pagan temple, after the adoption of Christianity it was transformed into a church, with a massive apse built to the east. From the west in the building was entered through two monumental portals carved into the rocks, with reserved openings for double doors.

A street carved into the rocks, with an elegant colonnade leading to the so-called Little Palace, is located to the west of the temple square. To the north of it are revealed the foundations of a large representative building. To the west is the earliest church, single aisle, with elegant proportions and an exquisite stone pulpit that can connect with the mission of Bishop Niketa Remesianski, who imposed Christianity in the Rhodope Mountains. Nearby a large rock reservoir is located, providing water during periods of siege.

To the northwest, one of the residential quarters has been completely revealed, consisting of stone buildings with ground floors, utility and storage rooms.

The fortress retained its importance in the Middle Ages. At the end of the 12th century, the Acropolis was transformed into a powerful fortress, an inner fortress wall was built, which turned the western part into a citadel. To the east, a dense development of one- and two-part semi-dugout dwellings is traced, in which chromelis, parts of fireplaces and other interior elements are found on site. The fortress controlled a large and densely populated area, in which the main place was occupied by the gold mines, located only a few kilometers southwest.

In 1339, in a letter from the Ecumenical Patriarch Perperikon was marked as a center of a bishopric with considerable potential. The bishop was so rich that he was ordered to pay the pension of the impoverished bishop of Philippi.

In 1343, Tsar Ivan Alexander joined the civil war in Byzantium, sending an expedition to conquer Achridos. Perperikon was taken, where a royal archon was appointed, but the fortress was soon captured by John Kantakouzenos, whose allies, the mercenaries of Umur, often carried out plundering campaigns, which led to the decline of life in the fortresses and settlements in Achridos. After the fall of Dimotika in 1362 and the subsequent invasion of the Ottomans, the fortress was captured and burned, and one of the military camps of the conquerors was set up here, which probably existed until the 80s of the 14th century.

Time covered with obscurity and soil the millennial life on the hill.

Entrance fees for Perperikon:

Pupils, students and pensioners – 6 BGN.

Visitors over 18 years old – 14.00 BGN.

Family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) – 30 BGN.

Guide tour– 50 BGN.

Use of an audio guide – 8 BGN.

Use of an audio guide with a personal phone – 4 BGN.

Discount for groups of more than 20 people – 50%

Discount for groups of more than 20 people – 50%

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