The
Rhodopi mountains are a huge massif in South
Bulgaria in the Balkan Peninsula. The mountain, buried
in age-old forests and greenery, is a very complicated
system of mountain massifs, valleys and mountain plains.
The length of this huge mountain range is 240 km from
west to east and 100 km from north to south. It is associated
with the ancient legend about the mythical Thracian singer
Orpheus and with unique architectural monuments, the most
significant of them being traditional houses which are
in harmony with the mountain scenery.
The
Eastern Rhodopi region has been inhabited since
the dawn of European civilization and it is the richest
in the Balkans in megalithic monuments from Thracian antiquity.
The fortresses in this part of the mountain are possibly
the best preserved medieval strongholds in the territory
of present-day Bulgaria. Unlike anywhere else in the country,
20-30 ft walls, can still be seen there, perched on the
tops of precipitous cliffs, like the remains of giant
eagle's nests.
The
climate in the Eastern Rhodopi mountains is transitory
between moderately continental and Mediterranean. That
is the reason for the permanent warm and fresh weather.
The mean temperature is 12 – 14 degrees C and holds the
record for the most sunny days in all Bulgaria. The days
when the temperature is over 5 degrees, are more than
290 in the year. The highest mountain peak is Golyam Perelik,
2191 m though the average altitude above the sea level
is 785 m.
Besides
the geographical situation, another reason for
that mild climate are the waterlands in the Eastern Rhodopi
region. The dams of Kardzhali, Studen kladenets, and Ivaylovgrad
are among the five biggest in Bulgaria. The main river
in the region is Arda, which flows to the Maritsa river
on Turkish soil. The Arda river has many smaller contributors
– the rivers, Cherna Reka (Black River), Varbitsa, Krumovitsa,
Byala Reka (White River), and Borovitsa.
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