Plovdiv, The Ethnographic Museum, 1847

Our guides are the best experts, lecturers and top professionals with in depth knowledge of our Bulgarian heritage and culture. Some of our guides are archaeologists. Our goal is to offer enriching travel experiences in Bulgaria that enhance people's lives by broadening their knowledge and culture. We are devoted to introducing the cultural heritage of Bulgaria by providing first class services in combination of high level of educational and learning experience. We have a passion for quality and looking after all our guests in the most personal manner possible.
Welcome to Bulgaria! Have a fascinating journey in Bulgaria!

Bulgaria is an unspoiled pearl in the Balkan mountains of Eastern Europe. Blessed with a lush countryside and nature, with world’s most exquisite roses Bulgaria has 8 000 years of history. With breathtaking and majestic Thracian, Byzantium, Roman, Jewish, Ottoman and Slav culture blended with European and Asian influence Bulgaria is Europe’s most ancient civilization. Bulgaria is lying across the border between Europe and Asia. It is the melting pot of people and cultures; it is the cross-point where the political layers of north, east, south and west meet. The Balkan landscape ranges from the loess plains of the Danube River to the rugged Balkans and Rhodope Mountain, the homeland of Orpheus.

In our journey we visit the Valley of Roses that is the home of the exquisite / and rare /  Bulgarian rose oil, also known as “attar of roses”, a well renowned world center for rose oil production and the source of many of the world’s finest perfumes. May and June are the most majestic months in the Rose Valley, as the rose fields are blossoming and the entire valley is enveloped with their fragrance. It is unique chance to spend a night or two at Kazanlak  in May and June and to breath, to immerse in the rose fragrance .We talk about roses and nature as a resource for healing, creativity, balance, peace and beauty.

The Varna Gold /4600- 4200 BC/
The Varna Gold is the oldest gold in the world and Europe’s most ancient civilization. The Varna civilization is even earlier than the Mesopotamian and the Egypt civilization. Community during the Neolithic period had undergone social stratification, which inevitably leads to a class society. The special features of Varna Gold are the fine work of the gold objects employing hammering, piercing and cutting, suggest high level of technology, well developed social and cultural process and spiritual culture.

Vulchitrun treasure, 16th c. BC
Archaeology Museum in Sofia

The Rogozen Treasure, 5th – 4th century BC It consists of 165 silver vessels, weighting 20 kg. The great historical value is the unique decoration. One of the most interesting scenes is when Heracles meets Avge – the priestess of the goddess Pallas Athena.

Letnitza Treasure, 4th century BC Horse ammunition appliquйs, silver with gilding

 
Rhyton  from Panagyurishte golden treasure, 4th-3rd  c BC.
The world famous Panagyurishte Treasure is an unbelievably beautiful set of ceremonial or religious type. It is made of high quality gold and its weight is 6 kg and 164 g. It consists of 9 vessels of specific form and original ornaments. Each of the rhytons is decorated with an exquisite head of an animal – a deer or a he-goat.

Sofia

 Also, we will visit the 13th century Boyana Church, a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site. The murals of this famous church reflect both Byzantine and local traditions of the preceding two centuries. One of the portraits in the church is unanimously considered a genuine masterpiece of 13th century painting, created 200 year before the European renaissance.

The Portrait of Dessislava, Boyana Church, 1259, UNESCO world Heritage Site.
This genuine masterpiece of 13th century painting created 200 years before the European Renaissance;
mark a remarkable peak in Eastern Christian Art.

We will visit the restored Sephardic Synagogue and the adjoining Museum. The Sofia Synagogue is one of the largest Sephardic Synagogues in Europe and the largest one on the Balkans. It was built during the period of 1905-1909 following the design of the Austrian architect Friedrich Griunanger. The architecture of the building involves Spanish Moresque and Byzantine Style, preserving precisely the rules of Jewish Monotheistic Religion. Adjacent to the Synagogue is a unique museum collection, telling about the truly amazing story about the saving of the entire Jewish population in Bulgaria, amounting to 50 000 people, during the World War II. The Bulgarian people lead by their Orthodox Church Metropolitans Kiril and Stefan stood in the way of the Nazy machine that was firmly resolved to implement the “final solution” of the Jewish question. The “solution” was never realized in Bulgaria. Ultimately, not a single Bulgarian Jews was deported to Nazi’s death camps. Anti-Semitism never had roots in Bulgaria. Jews were integral part of the Bulgarian society. Lecture on the history of the Jews in Bulgaria will focus on the Jewish influence and enrichment of the culture and religion on these lands.

Close to the Synagogue in Sofia is situated the beautiful Banya Bashi Mosque built in 1566 by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. The mosque takes its name by the neighboring Central baths (in the Turkish language ‘banya bashi’ means ‘a lot of baths’).

Alexander Nevski Memorial Church

Rila Monastery, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The magnificent splendidly decorated Alexander Nevski Memorial Church was built in the period 1904–1912 to the designs of the Russian architect Pomerantsev. The underground crypt is a renowned Orthodox Icons Museum, which houses impressive collection of icons from 9th to 18th centuries, some of them match the best works of Constantinople studios.
During our stay in Sofia we will take one-day excursion to Rila Monastery, 90 miles south of Sofia, in the majestic Rila Mountains. The monastery is an original national museum with a century-old history that dates back to the 10th century. The present building was built in mid-19th century (1816–1848). Located in the gorgeous mountain scenery of the mountains, it is considered the highest achievement of Bulgarian monumental architecture of the National Revival period. It is also a monument of international significance, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On transfer day we will visit the historical town-museum of Koprivshtitsa, famous for its beautiful National Revival-style houses.

 
Koprivshtitza
 

Veliko Turnovo

Perched on steep hills overlooking the Yantra  River, Veliko Turnovo’s narrow, lantern-lit streets wind past ancient ruins and unique architecture. During the period 1185-1396 Veliko Turnovo became the capital city of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, where workshops in the city and in remote monasteries created starkly images.
Religious culture, arts and spiritual life flourished particularly during the reign of Tsar Ivan Alexander (1331-1371). A number of monasteries were founded close to the capital city of Veliko Turnovo and throughout the country, where schools of literature, calligraphy and miniature painting were founded. Remarkable masterpieces were created such as the Chronicle of Manasius, which is now kept in the Vatican Library. Most impressive are the images from the Tetraevangelia of Tsar Ivan Alexander, which is the most richly decorated Bulgarian manuscript with 366 miniatures, nowadays on display in the British Museum in London.

Veliko Tarnovo

We’ll explore the medieval fortress on Tsarevets Hill, will visit the Museum of the First Bulgarian Constitution, adopted in 1879, and will explore the village-museum of Arbanassi.

One-day excursion will take us to the city of Ruse, an ancient Roman fort and major Bulgarian port on the Danube River. The river influenced the character of the town, as Ruse owes its appearance to Vienna and Budapest influence. It has a wealth of baroque and neoclassicist buildings; most of them were designed by famous Austrian architects of the 19th century, combining features from diverse epochs. Ruse is also the hometown of Elias Canetti (1905 - 1994), the 1981 Nobel Laureate in Literature. En route we’ll take the chance to see the famed rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which were inhabited by monks during the 11th - 14th centuries, whose walls are covered with valuable murals from various ages.

On transfer day we will visit the Tombul Mosque (1744) in the town of Shumen; and the Horse-Rider rock-cut relief of Madara, the only one of this kind in Europe and a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site. The relief dates from the 8th century, when the sacred rocks of the Madara plateau and the caves inside them were a major spiritual center during the period of the First Bulgarian State (681-1085).

Madara  Horseman ,  8th century, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Madara is the only rock relief in Europe.  It depicts a triumphant ruler in a symbolic hunting scene. The horseman has spread a lion / a powerful enemy/ with his lance. He is being followed by a dog / his loyal people/, and led by a bird. The figures are almost of life-size and the scene covers some 40 sq meters.

Varna

Bulgaria’s third largest city and most important port on the Black Sea Coast is dotted with ancient ruins, fishing villages, resorts and sandy beaches. A busy trading and cultural center starting with the Greeks in 600 BCE, Varna became a major port under the Romans and Slavs, trading with Constantinople, Venice and Dubrovnik. Town’s landmarks and sites range from 2nd century Roman ruins to dignified 20th century buildings.

During our stay in Varna we’ll visit the beautiful Archaeology Museum to see the fabulous collection of the renowned world-oldest manufactured gold. It was excavated in a prehistoric necropolis close to the city, and its age is estimated to 4600-4200 BCE. The archaeological exploration gives strong evidence for the judgment that the people, who lived in the area of nowadays Varna, belonged to Europe’s most ancient civilization, which was even older than the Mesopotamian and the Egypt civilizations. We’ll also visit the renowned archaeological site of the Roman thermae (baths), 2nd century CE, which was the largest of that kind in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.

During our stay in Varna we’ll take a one-day excursion to explore the coastal area north of the city. We’ll visit the Aladzha rock-cell monastery, carved out in a mountainside, which was inhabited by monks-hermits in the 13th century. We’ll explore the picturesque village of Balchik, famous for its beautiful botanic garden, whose alleys will lead us to world’s only building decorated with both a minaret of a mosque and a dome of a Christian church.

Ancient city of Nessebar,
UNESCO  World Heritage Site

On transfer day we’ll be introduced to the charming seaside town-museum of Nessebur, ancient Mesambria, which is another renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is particularly beautiful both in its location on a headland by the sea, and because of its many brightly painted 18th and 19th century traditional timber houses and cobbled streets. It is also famous for the impressive remains of fortifications and for the well-preserved late Byzantine churches, built in the period 11th - 14th centuries at the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom.
 

Kazanlak

The town of Kazanlak is the regional center of an area, traditionally known as the Valley of Roses, as here country’s major rose fields are located . The Valley of Roses  is the home of the exquisite / and rare /  Bulgarian rose oil, also known as “attar of roses”, a well renowned world center for rose oil production and the source of many of the world’s finest perfumes. May and June are the most majestic months in the Rose Valley, as the rose fields are blossoming and the entire valley is enveloped with their fragrance. It is unique experience  to spend a night or two  at Kazanlak  in May and June and to breath, to immerse in the rose fragrance .We talk about roses and nature as a resource for healing, creativity, balance, peace and beauty.

 However, this area achieved another important recognition as the Valley of the Thracian Kings, due to the numerous amazing archaeological excavations of the Thracian epoch.

Thrace (Thracia in Latin) was part of the Aegean-Mediterranean world in the southern part of Eurasia, a contact zone between continents and people and a site of religious practices, artistic skills and experiences. The Thracians lived on Bulgarian lands during 2nd –1st millennium BCE. Thracians and Trojans both belonged to the ‘Old culture’ and fought together against the Greek tribes. In Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Thracian kings are described as semi-gods in the possession of magnificent gold and silver.

The Thracian Temple at Kazanluk, 4th -3rd c. BC, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Orpheus, the most famous of all Thracian heroes, was most probably born in the Rhodope Mountains in nowadays Bulgarian lands, and one can feel his impact on spiritual practices, art and culture. It is estimated that he lived in the 13th century BCE at the end of the Bronze Age. Orpheus lived in the times of Moses and five centuries before Homer. Many explorers claim that Orpheus was a real historic figure who lived a generation before the Trojan War. According to Aristophanes Orpheus was famous for his initiation in the mysteries and his telling people to reject homicide. Orpheus was a preacher for brotherhood among people.

The Thracian religion was based on the balance of two elements: the solar and the chthonic. Hence its major figures – Orpheus and Dionysus, the great Mother Goddess and her dual son, constituted the usual images presented in the Thracian art. The numerous treasures founded in Bulgarian Thrace mark the cosmogony rites connected with the new birth of the king and his sacred marriage with the Goddess.  The Thracians believed that the son of the Sun and the earth are immortals. The belief in immortality was reflected by images in tombs and sanctuaries, as well as decoration of vessels, ritual sets, weapons and warriors and horses armor. By means of images and symbols the Thracian artist conveyed in his creations the religious and universality of his religion and cult rituals of Thracian society.

During our stay we’ll visit the Historical Museum in Kazanluk, where the latest fabulous archaeological finds from the area are on display, as well as the breathtaking painted Thracian tomb of Kazanluk (4th century BC), another renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 

Plovdiv

Thracians founded Plovdiv during the Neolithic period in the 2nd millennium BC. Picturesquely situated in the Thracian lowlands, 100 miles east of Sofia, and built on seven hills, Plovdiv is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in Europe. Bulgaria’s second biggest city has a history that goes back thousands of years, traces of which have survived to the present day. Plovdiv has had several names: Eumolpia of the Thracians (2nd millennium BC), Philipopolis of Philip II of Macedonia (342 BC), Trimontium, /i.e. on three hills/ was the major city of the Roman province of Thrace in the 1st – 3rd century CE.

This ancient city has astonishing historical and cultural heritage and an amazing Old Town, applying for UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage. It was built in the 18th-19th centuries as the center of the Bulgarian National Revival architecture. Along steep cobblestone lanes, behind stone walls and iron-studded heavy oak gates, one glimpses at verdure and flowers, surrounding the typical Plovdiv symmetrical houses with their painted facades, oriels and jetties and grid windows. Every house here has its own atmosphere, its intimate world with carved ceiling and bright murals, window seats and fine furniture from Venice, Vienna and London.

We will also visit the 2nd century Roman forum, stadium, and the fabulous amphitheater built during the time of Emperor Trajan (98-117). It has 28 rows with tiers of marble seats, which can accommodate over 3 500 spectators.

Other landmarks of this area is the charming Ethnographical Museum; a number of art galleries, housing valuable pieces of modern Bulgarian painting; a beautifully painted church (1832 – 1836); a 15th century mosque, one of the oldest on the continent; the Zion Sephardic Synagogue (built in 1886-1887 and expanded in 1922). Close to the synagogue stands a modest Monument of Thanksgiving, commemorating the gratitude of the Jewish community to all citizenship of Plovdiv for their salvation from the Nazis in 1943.

Half-day excursion we’ll take us to Bachkovo Monastery founded in 1083 by the Georgian Gregory Bakouriani, a Byzantine military commander. The oldest preserved buildings are the Ossuary with frescoes of 12th – 14th century and St. Archangels church (13th – 14th century). The murals in the monastery dining room (built in 1604 and decorated in 1643) are considered masterpiece of European Renaissance Art.

Sample Program Itinerary:  Arrive Sofia, 4 nights; coach to Veliko Turnovo, 3 nights; coach to Varna, 3 nights; coach to Kazanluk, 1 night; coach to Plovdiv, 3 nights; coach to/depart Sofia.

Day 1
Afternoon arrival at Sofia airport. Transfer to your hotel in central area and check-in for 4 nights.
 
Day 2
All day in Sofia. Morning: the National Museum of History; the Boyana Church, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Afternoon: walking guided tour of downtown area: Roman Serdica Fortifications /3rd – 5th centuries/; St. George Rotunda /4th century/; Alexander Nevski Memorial Church and the Icons Museum.

Day 3
All day in Sofia. Morning: the Sephardic Synagogue and the adjoining Museum. Banya Bashi Mosque built in 1566 by the great Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. National Art Gallery.
 Afternoon: Free in town to explore Sofia by your own.

Day 4
All-day excursion: drive into the mountains to visit Rila Monastery, UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Distance and driving time: 160 miles round trip, approximately 5-hr drive.

Day 5
All-day transfer. Morning depart Sofia for the city of Veliko Turnovo, the capital city of the Second Bulgarian State /12th – 14th century/. En route: Koprivshtitsa town-museum, an ethnographical and architectural reserve area; historical Shipka Pass in the Balkan Mountains.  Distance and driving time for the day: 200 miles, approximately 6-hr drive. Arrive in Veliko Turnovo and check in at your hotel in central area for the next 3 nights.

Day 6
All day in Veliko Turnovo. A gentle day in town and in the nearby historical village of Arbanassi: the medieval Tsarevets Fortress; early monasteries and churches; Museum of the First Bulgarian Constitution (adopted in 1879); National Revival (19th century) houses. Free time to stroll around in a traditional artisan area of national arts and crafts..

Day 7
All-day excursion: drive to visit the city of Ruse on the Danube River. En route: the rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo (11th-14th centuries), UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sightseeing  historical and architectural landmarks and free time in Ruse. Distance and driving time: 130 miles round trip, approximately 3-hr drive.

Day 8
All-day transfer. Morning depart Veliko Turnovo for the city of Varna, on the Black Sea coast. En route: the historical town of Shumen and Tombul mosque (18th century); the Madara Horseman rock-cut relief (8th century), UNESCO World Heritage Site. Distance and driving time for the day: 140 miles, approximately 3.5-hr drive. Arrive in Varna and check in at your hotel in central area for the next 3 nights.

Day 9
All day in Varna. A gentle day in town: the History and Archaeological Museum; the 2nd century Roman baths. Free time to stroll around and enjoy the nice Sea Garden.

Day 10
All-day excursion: drive north along the coast to visit the 13th century Aladzha rock-cell monastery and the coastal town of Balchick. Distance and driving time for the day: 100 miles round trip, approximately 2.5-hr drive.

Day 11
All-day transfer. Morning depart Varna for Kazanluk in the Valley of Roses / Valley of Thracian Kings. En route: visit Nessebur, ancient Mesambria, a charming seaside town-museum (60 miles south of Varna), and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Distance and driving time for the whole day: 200 miles, approximately 5-hr drive. Arrive in Kazanluk and check in the hotel for one night.

Day 12
Morning in Kazanluk and in the vicinity area: visit local Historical Museum and 4th century BC Thracian Tomb, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Afternoon transfer: depart Kazanluk for Plovdiv. Distance and driving time: 75 miles, approximately 1.5-hr drive. Arrive in Plovdiv and check in your hotel in central area for the last 3 nights.

Day 13
All day in Plovdiv. A gentle day in town: Roman Forum, Stadium, Amphitheater and Fortress (2nd - 3rd centuries); the Ethnographic Museum; historical houses and art galleries. The Old Town of Plovdiv is  known as Bulgaria's Montmartre for its dozens of art galleries and antique shops.  Afternoon: Visit the Zion Sephardic Synagogue in town and the Memorial of Thanksgiving (Saving) of the Bulgarian Jews.

Day 14
Half-day excursion in the morning: drive to the old Bachkovo Monastery, which is the site of the graves of Metropolitans (and later Patriarchs) Stefan and Kiril of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, who were leaders of the demonstrations in defense of the Bulgarian Jews in 1943.
Afternoon: free in town.

Day 15
Morning transfer: depart hotel and drive directly to Sofia Airport. Distance and driving time: 100 miles, approximately 2-hr drive. Check–in for departure flights. End of Program.