Yesterday, we visited Perperikon, the largest megalithic archeological site in the Balkans. It sits on a 1,200 foot high, rocky hill 15 kilometers north of the present-day town of Kardzhali.
The first traces of civilization at Perperikon go back to 5000 B.C. and it is the only known example, of a huge Thracian city called “the Stone Pompeii." It was complete with buildings, rooms, streets, squares and a water supply system, and is unlike anything that anyone had ever associated with the "barbaric" Thracians.
Of particular interest is a huge altar 6 feet in diameter and hewn straight out of the rock. Here the Tracians would have practiced fire rituals such as dancing on hot coals, and would eventually (500 AD) erect a small church when they were Christianized by the Romans.
We also drove through the valley of the roses. Unfortunately, the roses had already been harvested and there was little to see and little to smell. Oh well, perhaps we will get another chance one day.
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