A potted history of Bulgaria would lead from Neolithic/Bronze Age, through Thracian/Iron Age (first millennium BC), with the increasing influence of Hellenic and Macedonian traders and colonists, until the land became part of the Roman Empire (2nd to 5th centuries AD). Byzantine Christianity spread, the Roman Empire fell and the Slavs arrived to establish a state by 681 AD. During the 16th century, the country became part of the Ottoman Empire and remained so until the Russian-inspired Liberation in 1878.   

Martin Jeffes (owner of Sakar Hills Camping) combines a keen interest in local history and archaeological sites with a great enthusiasm for exploring off-road in his lwb Land Rover Defender. Once a test driver and demonstrator for Land Rover in the UK, Martin willingly took us to many of the ancient places described here, inspiring us to seek out others using our bicycles or hired car. Any English-language signs or booklets available at the sites are financed by the EU Phare Programme for cross-border co-operation to promote cultural and tourist resources (in this case, between Bulgaria and Greece). Most of the ancient sites we visited were freely open, unless we mention an entry fee. For all this, we are very grateful to both Martin and the EU.

For more information about Ancient Sites in our locality and in the country as a whole, click: Discover Ancient Bulgaria. For the complete collection of our photographs of ancient sites, click: Sights of Sites.

The numbers on the map (1 to 16) refer to the 16 numbered sites described below.

1. Thracian Beehive Tomb (1 km SE of Mezek village): The lane to the tomb is signed, to the left off the road from Svilengrad to Mezek. However, finding the keeper of the key means tracking down the Mayor of Mezek (ask in the village) or finding someone in the Tourist Office (up the hill, on the left, towards the medieval fortress) – no easy task! Lucky enough to arrive when the Mayor and a small team were making a promotional video about the area, we were duly filmed and interviewed! We still had to pay the entrance fee of 2 leva (€1) each.

The tomb at Mezek, one of the largest discovered in the Balkans, dates from the 4thC BC. The burial place and sanctuary of an important ruler, impressively intact, it is built of smooth stone blocks. A corridor 20.6 m long leads to a circular domed chamber, which was only discovered and excavated in 1931. The treasures of gold, silver, bronze, iron and pottery are currently in Sofia Museum, leaving only a display of photographs at the site. Since this whole border area  was off-limits during the Communist era, it has seen very few visitors, and even today the tomb is left unattended and locked.

1A. Thracian Beehive Tomb (above Mezek village) – Driving up the hill from Mezek, past the medieval castle, we continued climbing for about another 5 miles. The narrow track, running parallel with the Greek border, ended on a hill top at the base of a tall telecom-tower, bristling with satellite dishes. A landmark for miles around, it is even visible from the campsite in Biser. We climbed a flight of steps up to a memorial to those who perished in the Balkan War in October 1912. From this magnificent viewpoint at 2,300 ft, we picked out Svilengrad, Lyubimets and the villages of Lozen and Siva Reka to the north. To the south we could see the Ivailovgrad Dam on the Arda River. The Greek border was clearly defined to the east, while to the west was dense oak forest. A pair of Imperial Eagles soared high above the mountains. We felt very lucky, as the previous day (in late September) had been wet and misty. Marvellous - pass the binoculars, the thermos of coffee and the chocolate peanut bars!

Returning a short way back down the hill, Martin, driving the Land Rover Defender, kept a sharp lookout for a small new wooden sign pointing down a muddy footpath through the woods on our left. The Bulgarian wording meant 'To the Grave' – or rather an excavated Thracian Tomb, accessible by 4WD (or on foot). The stone entrance was identical in style to the large Thracian tomb in Mezek, though it lacked the long entrance corridor. As it had been excavated and left open, we clambered straight in, braving the darkness (and a pair of roosting bats). As our eyes adjusted to the dark (bring a torch next time!), we made out the intact corbel roof of the circular chamber and marvelled at the masonry skills of those who built this royal tomb over 2,000 years ago.

The morning ended happily at the little shop/café in the middle of Mezek village, where we sat at a pavement table under a bower of grapes. A party of five, we had 2 rounds of drinks and all ate excellent sausages, tomato salad and piping hot chips, with a loaf of bread and a large bar of hazelnut chocolate to share - costing a total of 20 leva or €10 including a good tip to the charming English-speaking waitress/shopkeeper! Heartily recommended.

2. Thracian Beehive Tomb (in Alexandrovo village): This tomb is similar to the one in Mezek, but with unique internal frescoes. It is well signed from the road through Alexandrovo (between Dimitrovgrad and Harmanli). Sadly it was closed to visitors in Aug/Sept 2008. However, we understand that a new visitor centre will soon be opened, with funding from Japan!

3. Thracian Cromlech (1 km west of Dolni Glavanak village): There is a car park and information kiosk on the north side of the road towards Topolovo, from where a good footpath leads 800 m uphill. The small circle of megaliths (upright standing stones) is described as a Thracian Cult Complex. Recently excavated, it's the only preserved Cromlech in Bulgaria, though they are found in Western Europe - most famously at Stonehenge. Pottery and tools, as well as traces of child cremations, date it to the Early Iron Age (8th–6thC BC) but the religious sanctuary was used into Late Iron Age and even beyond the introduction of Christianity.

4. Thracian Dolmen (near Branitsa village, badly signposted south from the main road running from Harmanli to Topolovgrad): Along unsigned tracks, well off the road (long walk or 4WD needed and quite a bit of luck), is a single Thracian Dolmen (burial chamber). Made of enormous stone blocks and slabs, it was the tomb of an Iron Age tribal ruler. Even the nearby EU-funded noticeboard is not visible from the track which passes to the west. Worth the challenge of getting there and not least for the splendid setting.

5. Thracian Dolmen Complex (near Hlyabovo village): From a parking area on the east side of the road between Balgarska Polyana and Hlyabovo, follow sign along 150 m of EU-funded but crumbling paved footpath to a more substantial and easily accessible group of Dolmens. Impressive are the arched entrances cut through the stone and the smaller tomb for a child (or a favoured animal?) In this area (the Sakar Hills) about 60 such tombs have been found, all dating back to 1,000 BC. Usually oriented east-west, they were used repeatedly for burials through the Iron Age, continuing through into the period of Roman rule.

6. Thracian Menhir (in Ovcharovo village - seen here on the right with Margaret): This is a single standing stone, 2.2 m high, called 'Chuchul Kamak'. It is right by the road in the southern part of the village. This is the only Thracian Menhir preserved in Bulgaria, it dates from 1,000 BC and was connected with religious rituals.

7. Thracian Rock Niches (near Dolni Cherkovishte/Kotlari): The valley of the Arda River in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains is rich in Thracian monuments. In addition to the rocky sanctuaries of Cromlechs and Dolmens, there are hundreds of open niches cut into cliffs and rock faces at 'Malkata Kovankaya', 21 km west of Madzharovo on the north bank of the river. Dating from 1,000 BC, they formed part of a religious sanctuary complex, where local tribes placed urns containing the cremated ashes of their dead in the niches. For yet more information, click: Rocky Niches.

8. Thracian Rock Niches 'Silent Stones' (near Malko Gradishte): The track to the 'Silent Stones' is marked by a rough sign, on the right of the road 4 miles (6 km) from Malko Gradishte towards Ivailovgrad, at the top of the first long hill (at 1,870 ft). It's a long unsignposted walk (or 4WD) to the site, set on top of a rocky massive divided by deep defiles, high in the woods. The rock niches here are combined with tombs and sacrificial altars to form one of the largest Thracian cult burial complexes in the Eastern Rhodopes, dating from Early Iron Age (1,200 BC). It's a beautiful tranquil place to take a picnic and explore the history and mystery.

There are stairs hewn into the rock leading to the top of the sanctuary, where the tomb of a member of the Thracian aristocracy can be discerned. A rectangular basin cut into the rocks may have been a reservoir, or used by priests in their ceremonies. Over 200 niches stud the surrounding rocks and the whole sacred site was once walled with hewn stones.

We had read that worship continued here until Christianity was adopted by the Roman Empire and that a church was built in the 5th century, but we did not expect to find any trace of it. However, seeing signs of very recent excavation revealing stone wall foundations, with tools left ready to continue work next morning, we turned a corner. In what was probably the crypt of the early church lay a complete skeleton, carefully uncovered, with a visible wound in the side of the skull! It had probably lain there for 1,500 years: a breathtaking find for the team of archaeologists - and for us. Martin Jeffes (who had taken us there in his Land Rover) returned to the site a few days later, hoping to talk to the team, but did not find them or the skeleton.

For more recent developments, click: The Silent Stones Speak

9. Thracian Settlement 'Perperikon' (1 km from Gorna Krepost village, 15 km north of Kardzhali): Follow signs to the car park, with café and souvenir stalls. A booklet 'The Sacred City of Perperikon' was available in English for €3, written by Prof Ovcharov, who led the excavations in 2001. Until then, Perperikon was simply regarded as a medieval stronghold. For the full story of its long history, visit the Perperikon website (film, music, information in English). There are plans for the conservation and development of the site, with Information Centre etc. It's a steep 20-minute walk to the acropolis, so fill your water bottle at the car park spring!

The largest megalith complex in the Balkans, if not Europe, dating from the late Neolithic period (5,000 BC) the rock-hewn city of Perperikon developed around an ancient temple connected with Dionysos and the cult of Orpheus, worshipped by the Thracians. The Roman historian Suetonius tells us that Alexander the Great consulted the priests at a Rhodopean temple of Dionysos, to learn that he would conquer the world! The father of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, was given a similar prophecy for his son. Perperikon could be this long-lost temple.

At the other end of the time scale, there are claims that a reliquary containing fragments of the True Cross were found among the foundations of a 9thC church and monastery at Ahridos, in a field 2 km below Perperikon. The reliquary is now stored in a new monastery in Kardzhali, whilst other finds are in the town's historical museum. Whatever the legends, it is a truly atmospheric site and we enjoyed scrambling up the hillside, trying to make sense of the layout and the main features.

A stone passage cut into the hillside leads up to a huge palace hewn into the rock, complete with throne. To the east and west of the hall are crypts containing stone sarcophagi, while residential areas lie to the north and south, with short streets cut into the rocks. Above is a circular stone altar marking the temple of Dionysos, where high priests predicted the future by reading the flames from wine poured onto the altar fire. A steep path climbs to an acropolis of enormous stone blocks, with a massive fortified wall. Here on top of the hill are the remains of a small palace, a deep reservoir cut into the rock, the foundations of an early church and an incongruously restored medieval tower.

Byzantine Perperikon finally fell to the Bulgarian King Ivan Alexander in 1343 during the civil wars in the Eastern Rhodopes, by which time it had become an Episcopal centre, made wealthy by local gold mining. Plenty of work and interest here for archaeologists of all ages!

10. Thracian Mogila (near Kolarovo village): A common feature of this area of SE Bulgaria is the 'Mogila', also known in Europe as a tumulus or round-barrow: a Bronze Age burial mound usually set on top of a low hill. One such Mogila, at Yorgos Mount near a Roman necropolis, lying among the vineyards between Kolarovo and the Roman site of Castra Rubra, was being excavated by a team from Sofia Archaeological Institute. We talked with their leader, Dr Borislav Borislavov, and watched the students and gipsy labourers at work, quartering the tumulus. Interestingly, Mogila means 'hill' in Bulgarian and 'grave' in Russian.

It was a scorching hot day, the first of August, with a baby tortoise underfoot and storks wheeling overhead. We tried to imagine ourselves as Romans, marching past Thracian remains along the nearby Via Diagonalis.

11. Thracian Mogila (near Cherna Mogila): The hamlet of Cherna Mogila (= Black Hill) lies 11 km south of our campsite at Biser, along the only road out of the village (apart from the link to the busy Ljubimets-Harmanli highway). There is a clearly discernible Mogila to the right of the road, before the village, accessible by a footpath (or 4WD). We enjoyed the circular walk and scrambled to the top, though the large holes dug by historians or treasure-hunters were overgrown. There are other possible mogila sites in the immediate area, although the Gypsies camped roughly in nearby fields seem less than interested. You might, however, be asked to make an offfering to them, as you pass by.

12. Roman Road (near Dolni Glavanak village): A preserved section of the Via Singidunum can be seen near Dolni Glavanak. This road connected Vindobona (Vienna), via Serdika (Sofia) with Byzantium (Constantinople/Istanbul) in the 5thC AD. A well developed road network was the basis of Rome's economic and military power, essential to the Empire's expansion. Roman roads were composed of several layers of stones and well stamped gravel, cambered to allow drainage, with a top paving of stone plates for durability. Several traces of the great Roman roads have been found in Thrace, but the stones were often taken for re-use when clearing the land for agriculture. This particular stretch is well preserved and simply disappears into undergrowth at either end - a temptation to explore!

13. Roman Road and Fortress 'Castra Rubra' (near Kolarovo, 7 km west of Izvorovo village): Following signs for 'Castra Rubra', turn left at crossroads on the way from Lyubimets to Izvorovo, then left again along a track. Park by the short stretch of restored Roman Road – the Via Diagonalis, which linked Rome and Byzantium, passing near Harmanli on its way to Hadrianopolis (modern Edirne in Turkey). From the Roman Road, it's a short walk (or 4WD) down the steep path to Castra Rubra (= Red Fortress). Oddly, the signs insist on the title “Project Via Diagonalis and the Bulgarian Stonehenge”, though we saw no connection with the latter!

Along the length of Roman roads there were regular road stations: the 'Mutatio' for changing horses and the larger 'Mansio' for staying overnight, usually with a military garrison. Castra Rubra was built to protect a 'Mutatio', located by the site of a Thracian settlement. The fortress had square towers at its corners and substantial double gates, the foundations of which can be seen. It was built in the 5thC and strengthened in the reign of Justinian (6thC), a turbulent time in Ancient Thrace. During invasions by Slavs in the early 7thC, the fort was burnt down, then rebuilt, to be destroyed a second time at the beginning of the 9thC. Layers of ash and charcoal, finds of Roman coins and inscriptions chart the course of this unwritten history.

We visited Castra Rubra 3 times, watching a team of archaeologists from the University of Veliko Turnovo at work and talking with their French-speaking leader. Students were sorting the finds and washing the shards of pottery, and we noticed a pile of animal bones and edible-snail shells from the ancient midden. They were excavating the remains of a pair of 6thC AD houses, while across the valley, where a medieval settlement grew up on the adjacent hill, we could see another group uncovering the Byzantine necropolis.

Margaret had worked on the excavation of a Roman colony, at Xanten in Germany on the Lower Rhine, some 40 years ago (while studying both German and Archaeology as part of her degree at Durham University). Methods here in Bulgaria appeared unchanged, apart from the introduction of a metal detector which bleeped regular false alarms!

Incidentally, the 'Castra Rubra' name is used by the large vinery in nearby Kolarovo on its wine labels.

14. Museum at Izvorovo (In the village of Izvorovo, north of Lyubimets along the road to Cherepovo): A small museum has opened. It is not signed – just try the door in the newly restored local government building on the square. If it's open, a very enthusiastic curator will take care of you. Though she speaks only Bulgarian, there are free booklets in English covering Castra Rubra and the Via Diagonalis, as well as photographs and a lovingly made model of the area, complete with Thracian and Roman sites. Empty glass showcases await the donation of some artefacts. On the wall is a replica section of the Tabula Peutingeriana (a 2nd century map of Roman roads, including the Via Diagonalis). It shows the River Danube, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south with some geographical accuracy, though the land appears squeezed between them. 

There's a bar and parking area nearby. Izvorovo village (site of a large collective farm in the Communist days) also has a tractor on a plinth in a field – a 'Lanz Bulldog' from Austria, dated 1947 and reputedly the first tractor to arrive in Bulgaria. 60 years on, it has still not replaced the horse in this area!

15. Roman Villa Armira (4 km SW of town of Ivailovgrad): The ruins of a large Roman villa by the Armira River, dating from 1st-4th centuries AD, were found during the building of a dam in 1964. Signed on the right of the road south from Ivailovgrad, it has a car park and café. Partly restored and covered, the villa was well worth the 9 leva (€4.50) we paid for 2 adults plus a photography permit and a good booklet 'The Splendour of the Villa Armira'. Driving south from Lyubimets to Ivailovgrad, we needed to show our passports at a police checkpoint near the hydro-electric dam where we crossed the Arda River, in this sensitive Greek border zone.

One of the earliest found in Bulgaria, the 2-storey 22-room Roman villa had a large estate. The ruins were preserved for almost 2,000 years under a thick layer of clay, after an earthquake caused a landslide. The ground floor rooms surrounded a large courtyard and pool and the whole, extended in the 3rd century, resembled a palace, with marble colonnades and beautiful mosaic floors. The German-speaking custodian showed us round with pride, to admire the exposed Roman hypocaust (underfloor heating) and the mosaics. There was a photo of the mosaic from the main bedroom (removed to a museum), which depicts the master of the villa in the early 2nd century and his two children, sadly bent with rickets.

The villa was inhabited until the time of the Battle of Hadrianopolis (modern Edirne), when Emperor Valens was defeated at the hands of the Germanic Visigoths in 378 AD. This was a major victory of barbarian horsemen over Roman infantry and marked the beginning of serious Germanic inroads into Roman territory. By some accounts, the Romans lost 40,000 men. Valens, who had failed to await reinforcements from Gratian, his nephew and co-emperor, was wounded on the battlefield and taken to a loyal villa by his guards. The Goths found the place, set fire to the villa and killed the emperor - could this really have been at the Villa Armira? The custodian liked to think so.

16. Byzantine Fortress (near Mezek village): Follow the signs uphill from Mezek, past a small Tourist Information Office and still higher towards the Greek border. There is a car park on the right, a short walk from the fortress (though we actually cycled there - a 50-mile round trip from Biser).

One of Bulgaria's best preserved medieval castles, the walled Fortress of Neutzicon lasted from the rule of the Byzantine Emperor Aleksii Komnin I (1081-1117) until it fell to Ottoman invasion in the 14th C. (Mezek means 'border'.) There are good views over the village from one of its 9 towers, and explanatory signs in English.

For more images, click: Ancient Sites Sights

Visit to Didymoteichon, over the Border in Greek Thrace

Attracted by Orestiada's supermarkets (Lidl, Dia and Carrefour, not to mention Goody's Restaurant), we made a shopping trip into Greece with Bob Pharoah. Euros spent, we continued south along the highway down the Evros Valley to visit Didymoteichon.

The Neolithic settlement here continued through the Iron Age to the Classical period. The city was named Plotinoupolis by Roman Emperor Trajan (in honour of his wife Plotina) and went on to become a medieval capital, where a 14thC Byzantine Emperor was crowned. After its capture by the Ottomans in 1361, the city was chosen as the first seat of their Empire in Europe. Its modern name means 'Twin Fortifications'. The historical site has been developed under the EU Phare Cross-Border Co-operation Programme: Bulgaria/Greece. Visit Didymoteichon.

We parked by a small Tourist Office (open mornings only) on the slope of the hill above the modern town: one of a large number of traditional houses from the 18th-19th centuries. Inside the fortress walls, we wandered in the sunshine past the Byzantine Church of Ag Athanasios and other medieval buildings (one serving as an art gallery). On the hill top we came to caves and rocks cut with Thracian funerary niches, like those we had seen in Bulgarian Thrace.

Below was a bridge over the river, shortly to join the Evros (the border between Greece and Turkey). From another viewpoint we looked down on the town, clustered round the minaret and steep lead-covered roof of the Great Mosque of Sultan Bayezid the Thunderbolt (how marvellous!). The tower of an Orthodox church rose nearby.

We returned from Didymoteichon on minor back roads in the eastern foothills of the Rhodopes,to the Greek-Bulgarian border near Svilengrad. This is now an EU-EU crossing, though there are still checkpoints at either end of a kilometre of no-man's land. We were quickly through, with a quick glance at our passports.

Visit to Nesebar and Sunny Beach on the Black Sea Coast

Another excursion with Bob Pharoah was to his favourite spot on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, a 3-hour car journey from our base in Biser. We drove NE via Elhovo to the port of Burgas, then 35 km up the coast, past the salt pans of Pomorie and over the causeway to Nesebar (ancient Greek Mesembria), its slender peninsula protected since antiquity by massive ramparts. It was early September, the high season over, the weather still golden, a freshening sea breeze. The car park charged a bargain 5 lev (€2.5) for the whole day (even space for motorhomes, with an overnight rate). We lunched on the terrace of the Romantic Panorama restaurant, overlooking the harbour, before wandering the narrow cobbled streets.

A thriving port, colonised by Greeks and Romans, Nesebar became an important staging post between Constantinople and the Danube during the Byzantine era. It changed hands between Byzantines and Bulgars several times from the 9thC onwards until it fell to the Ottomans. Even then, it remained the seat of a Greek Orthodox Bishopric. We admired the 19th century half-timbered houses that overhung a rash of souvenir stalls, cafes and trinket shops. Many Byzantine churches in various states of preservation are tucked away, beyond and behind the tourists, though most were locked and some had become art galleries. The earliest remains are the ruins of the Old Metropolitan Church in the historic centre of the old town, dating from the 5thC.

After walking round the peninsula above its rocky shores, we went over to Sunny Beach (Slanchev Bryag), a purpose-built high-rise resort basking along a perfect stretch of sand only 3 km from Nesebar. The small ferry was asking 15 lev per person for the short but choppy crossing. Knowing that parking in Sunny Beach would be virtually impossible, we left Bob's car in Nesebar and took a taxi: quicker, smoother and cheaper than the boat.

Expecting a brash package holiday place, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the hotels and the cleanliness of Bulgaria's largest coastal resort. Bob reminisced as we took coffee in the hotel where he stayed last summer – a visit which changed the course of his life, since he now lives in a Bulgarian village! The Blue Flag beach stretches for 8 km and we walked the length of the main strip before resting over McMuffins and ice cream! Rows of empty sun beds lined the shore and a machine was cleaning the pristine sands at the end of another day. From night clubs to pirated DVD's to bungee jumping, it was all there.

For more images, click: Black Sea Sights  For more information, visit www.nesebar.com.   

Fellow Campers

During our summer on 'Sakar Hills Touring Park' at Biser, campers of many nationalities joined us: on foot, bicycle or motorbike; by car, motorhome or caravan. They came from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, France, Germany and Italy, as well as Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland – but not Bulgaria! Most of them spent a night or two en route to/from Greece or Turkey, while the few who stayed longer to explore this corner of Bulgaria were given every help by the Jeffes family, particularly if they were interested in buying a property or visiting the historic sites.

Apart from the 'usual suspects', we hosted a convoy of German ambulances, donated by the Malteser Hilfsdienst (St John's), being driven by young volunteers to the Afghan border, where they will be handed over to charity workers.

We especially enjoyed meeting Andy Pettitt at the end of July, returning overland from England to his native New Zealand. He rode a beautifully-equipped Triumph Bonneville motorbike, a replica of an earlier Triumph for its simplicity of maintenance and repair. Once a keen cyclist, he had crated his collection of bicycles to be shipped direct to Nelson from the UK. His route involved flying the motorbike from Nepal to Bangkok, to avoid Burma, and then taking a ferry via Indonesia to Australia. We follow his great adventure on www.atriumphtonelson.co.uk: “Not so much about how one man helped save western Europe from the tyranny of Napoleon...more about some middle-aged geezer riding his Triumph Bonneville to Nelson, New Zealand”, to quote Andy. He invites you to email him at: :

Towards the end of August came the first cycle-tourist, Slovenian Boris Sajtegelj, who had ridden from Maribor in 2 weeks. His plan to cycle across Turkey and into Syria (or would it be Iran again?) sounded ambitious, until we learnt that Boris's last long ride took him across Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Iran and Pakistan to Tibet, then via China, Laos and Cambodia to Singapore for a flight home. This 10-month epic involved an encounter with a road-mending vehicle in China which wrote his bicycle off. The modest 30-year-old is still riding the Chinese replacement bike! Inviting Boris to join us for dinner in the motorhome, we were rewarded with a splendid slide show of this journey, thanks to the wonders of his CD and our laptop.

Boris stayed for 2 nights, taking a rest day – an opportunity for us to show him the area in the comfort of our hire car. After John and Carol had called for coffee, we took Boris to visit friends from New Zealand who live in a Sakar Hills village. Ruth rustled up some lunch while Barry and Boris fixed the flat tyre on her car. The day ended at the home of our good friend Bob, who has a house nearby. Boris couldn't believe there were so many English people in the area – and he didn't even meet the Jeffes family!

A pair of English students, Lee and Carl from Stoke, cycled in just as Boris left. We took them to eat at the excellent 24-hour Snack Bar in Lyubimets and next day they were gone, headed for Istanbul and a return flight to the UK. One came via Narvik in northern Norway and they had met up in the Baltic Republics.

Three days later the last cyclist of the summer arrived – the delightful Jean-Roland Marguin from Lyon, who teaches in Paris. Over a cup of 'thé avec un nuage de lait' we discovered that he has an English mother and French father, so we were spared further French conversation practice! Jean-Roland proved to be well travelled, including work in Central Africa, and we talked easily until 2.30 am over Margaret's supper of fishy pasta, Jean's sticky cakes from Harmanli and local grapes.

Like Boris, Jean-R decided on a rest day before continuing to Istanbul. As he expressed an interest in Ancient History, we took him for a picnic by the Roman road and fort at Castra Rubra. The director of the excavation there, a Professor from Veliko Tarnovo, speaking better French than English, kindly told us about their work and allowed photographs. We collected more brochures from the little Museum in Izvorovo, then drove on to see our friends in the Sakar Hills.

Ruth produced home-made scones and jam, coffee, wine, fruit, banitsa (flaky cheese pie) and salad. Jean-R was enchanted – and enchanting. His French accent and manners charmed the ladies, young (Ruth's daughters) and older!

We had an email from Jean-R a few days later, to say he had safely reached Istanbul (despite 2 punctures near Edirne). He was planning to take a ferry from Cesme back to Italy – a good route, which only runs during the summer months.

For more images, click: On the Campsite in Biser

Cycling

Sadly, our base at Biser in SE Bulgaria did not make a good base for cycling. The intense dry heat (we recorded a maximum of 43°C or 109°F on 20 August) was debilitating. Worse - rides of any distance involved cycling along road E80, narrow with no shoulders but much heavy traffic and many trucks. In addition, it carried the annual migration of Turkish 'guest-workers' on their way from Germany and other West European countries, driving to Turkey in July/August, then returning in August/September. Thousands of them! We do not exaggerate – there are over 2 million such Turkish 'Gastarbeiter' in Germany alone. The new section of motorway, not yet officially open, from Harmanli to Svilengrad, seemed to make little difference to the density of this traffic. It's still the main road connecting Turkey, and therefore Asia and the Middle East, with the whole of Europe!

Discouraged by all this, not to mention the death of our old friend Ian Hibell at the hands of a Greek motorist in Athens (see The Death of Ian Hibell), it was not a summer to enjoy cycling. We did occasionally ride the E80 north-west into Harmanli: a 16-mile round trip, fraught with trucks.

23-mile circuit: The only other road out of Biser village is a quiet hilly lane leading 6 miles south to Cherna Mogila, a semi-abandoned gipsy village. This ride involved climbing from 320 ft to almost 1,000 ft, with a good freewheel back. We usually extended the route by continuing another 5 miles east on an overgrown and crumbling track to the village of Lozen, where there is a small café. A good road then runs NE for 5 miles, past fields of sunflowers and vineyards and over the railway track into the town of Lyubimets. Here there are shops and cafés for a break before returning 7 miles west along the busy E80, crossing the bone-dry Bisserska River before reaching Biser. This 23-mile circuit became our favourite ride, to be completed early before the heat of day built up.    

51-mile return to Mezek: We did undertake a longer day-ride, to Mezek. We cycled along E80 and through the watermelon wholesale market to Lyubimets; then south to Lozen, where we paused for coffee. At Malko Gradishte, a hamlet 3 miles south of Lozen, we turned sharply north-east on very quiet narrow lanes for 5 miles to Siva Reka, then 3 miles south again to the small town of Mezek. Here there is a Thracian Tomb but it is kept locked, so we paid a later visit by car to play 'Hunt the Key'.

Following signs to the Medieval Fortress, we climbed a steep road past a small Tourist Office (closed), up to the walled Fortress. We continued up the hill towards the Greek border for a few kilometres, reaching a height of 1,275 ft before settling down to a picnic lunch. A horse & cart drove along the hedgerow, its driver greeting us in Greek - we were paralleling the border just a mile away on our left. The nearest official border crossing is near Svilengrad, but we guess the locals know the lie of the land!

We freewheeled back to the Byzantine Fortress of Neutzicon, built in the 11thC, and wandered freely, taking photos inside its massive walls. Information signs in English and a new wooden staircase inside one of the 9 towers hinted at development to come. Down in Mezek we needed ice creams and cold drinks, the temperature now reaching 40°C or 103°F! We retraced the quiet lanes to Lozen, from where we had a choice of route: via Lyubimets again or along the track to Cherna Mogila. We took the latter, to avoid the busy E80, though it involved more climbing.

By 5 pm we reached the camp in Biser, dry and dusty, to rehydrate with pots of tea and cool showers. The GPS recorded a total climb of 2,500 ft over the 82 km. Height and distance were no problem but the heat had almost defeated us. We didn't repeat the exercise.

Food

Local Produce: The Bulgarian villagers live for and from their vegetable plots, smallholdings and orchards. Our immediate Bulgarian neighbours, Maria and Atanos, also kept goats, chickens and bees, sometimes handing gifts of tomatoes, eggs and plums over the boundary fence! Ivan, another doyen of Biser, called regularly at the campsite in his aged Lada, leaving giant watermelons, sweet melons, juicy peaches and nectarines, piles of apples and pears, luscious grapes, plentiful cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers … All his own produce, generously given to share among the campers.

The campsite itself had a small vegetable plot, from which we gleaned corn cobs, cherry tomatoes, seedless watermelons, carrots and parsnips, though it is now being concreted to provide some hard-standing pitches – a more lucrative crop, perhaps!

In addition to all this, we enjoyed potatoes and other produce from the gardens of our new friends, John & Carol, as well as food grown at the home of the campsite owners, Martin & Shirley (who deserve special mention for their marrows!)

Given (literally) all this free-range harvest, the only fruit or vegetables we bought in 3 months was bananas!

Shopping: Small supermarkets supply basic foodstuffs, though they lack the variety and quality that West Europeans take for granted. Butchers are thin on the ground (as are the animals!) The cheese available is either 'sirene', a white cheese like Greek feta, often grated over salads or chips, or 'kaskaval', a bland yellow variety. Tea bags are hard to find, as Bulgarians drink herbal or flower teas, but Nescafe have done a good marketing job for sales of instant coffee.

There is a handy mini-market in Biser village, selling bread, long-life milk, bottled water, alcohol and a few other essentials. The nearest supermarket is about 6 miles away, at the junction in Harmanli. It has a meat counter and an outdoor stall for hot roasted chickens straight off the spit (recommended!) The town also has a Saturday morning market, with a variety of local produce, nuts, honey, sunflower seeds, herbs and pulses - as well as non-food goods and clothing.

More serious food shopping means a 50-mile round trip to 'Kaufland' hypermarket in Haskovo, though rumour has it that Harmanli may soon have a large 'Billa' supermarket. Chains like Tesco, Lidl or French Carrefour have yet to reach Bulgaria, though you will find them over the border in Turkish Edirne or Greek Orestiada.    

Cooking: With so much fresh produce, our summer diet was based on salads, fruit and vegetables – ideal for the hot climate. We had stocked up with tinned meat and fish before arriving in Bulgaria, and Margaret baked our bread, puddings and cakes. Our small freezer is now packed with tomato soup and stewed apples, our lockers groaning with plum jam. But how do you preserve watermelons?

Dining Out: Even the smallest village has at least one café/bar selling coffee, soft drinks and hard liquor. Prices are very low, at about 1 lev (€0.50) for a milky coffee. In Biser, the mini-market serves drinks, while the Central Bar also has snacks (like the ubiquitous 'kufte' burgers). There are also 2 simple restaurants open in the evening, with a limited menu (salad, chips, grilled or fried meat). We did join a party at Yanko's Restaurant once, but preferred home-cooking.

A wider variety of food is available along the highway, at the 24-hour 'Bolarka' Snack Bar in Lyubimets. Catering for truckers, it serves good pizzas, ham & eggs, chips and grills, complete with WiFi internet and an ATM cash machine.

In Harmanli, we occasionally sat outside the café near the post office to eat pizza or pasta, or lunched at Martin's favourite: the Tennis Club, behind the police station. For a really good lunch out, we had to travel to Haskovo, where there is an excellent Italian Restaurant in the centre (opposite the kids' bouncy castle slide).

Wine: This area of Bulgaria around Haskovo and Harmanli is a vine-growing region, specialising in robust reds like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The EU is funding even more vineyards in the Sakar Hills and there are wineries in and near Kolarovo. After a short tour of the smaller winery, Margaret bought a flagon of the local rosé and declared it very smooth.

On Saturday 2 August, we had a long day out in a hire car. We drove south to Ivailovgrad to picnic at the Armira Roman villa, then west to the Muslim town of Krumovgrad, where we paused for coffee. Heading north again, we took a minor road through the splendidly empty forested hills of the Eastern Rhodopes, towards the Stouden Kladenets Conservation Area and Devil's Bridge across the Arda River.

It was late in the very hot afternoon as we stopped to help a tortoise across the road. Round another bend, we again came to a halt, seeing a tiny bundle of fur lying in our path. A rabbit, perhaps? No, it was a pathetic little kitten, weak and dehydrated, which had crawled to the middle of the road and given up. It must have been dumped nearby, as there were no houses for many a mile. Margaret carried it to the verge and walked back to the car for some water. Kitten struggled to its feet and followed her – the best move it could have made! With little hope that the poor scrap would survive, we drove back with it as fast as we dared, stopping briefly in Harmanli to buy some cat food.

At the campsite we revived her (as she proved to be) with a sample of 'Darling' brand fishy chunks and chicken-flavour biscuits mashed in warm milk, then put her to bed in a cardboard box. By morning, she had rallied and we were able to gently shampoo her matted fur and check her over. The only visible injury was around a half-closed left eye. She responded warmly to handling and stroking, and enjoyed her bath!

Next day we took her to the 'vet' in Harmanli, who ran a small animal pharmacy in the bazaar, offering injections and simple treatment. He confirmed that our foundling was female, sold us worm tablets and flea spray, and indicated that her left eye was blind. She needed no further treatment.

We named the one-eyed kitten Nelson, which evolved into Nellie, then Little Nel. We bought her a smart blue harness and lead – from which she escaped in about 5 minutes flat, so maybe Houdini would have been better. But we need not have worried, she didn't stray far from our motorhome, the source of food of love. She repaid us handsomely, turning into a beautiful warm playful member of the campsite clan. Yes, there were already 3 young feline residents – Big Foot, Hobbs and Stumpy - cared for by Matt Jeffes. 

Young Nel is best described as a ginger-tabby short-haired domestic cat, with an adorable nature. Even Barry, who always preferred dogs, couldn't put her down! It was a delight to watch her grow strong, learn to climb the walnut tree, catch her first grasshopper, puzzle over her first frog … How we shall miss her when we hand her over to our kind friend, Bob Pharoah, who has offered Nel a permanent home when we leave Bulgaria.

For more images of Nel, other campsite cats and Carol's Bull Mastiffs, click: Cats and Dogs

British: We found a small but select number of British expatriates living in the area who were to become close friends. We shall miss them all.

The camping in Biser is owned by Martin & Shirley Jeffes, whose beautiful home lies in the nearby Sakar Hills. Their son Matt resides on the campsite, and the whole family was very helpful to us. Martin & Shirley introduced us to Bulgarian history, including among several others, a Land Rover expedition to Perperikon (followed by a meal at the Stouden Kladenets lake on the River Arda). In July our wedding anniversary was celebrated at their home, with delicious home grown corn cobs and stuffed marrow, not to mention chocolate cake and flowers. For this – and much more – we are extremely grateful. We also enjoyed meeting Shirley's parents, Arnold & Beryl, over on holiday from England.

The only fellow-camper when we arrived was Bob Pharoah, a warm-hearted Geordie, living in his caravan and helping round the site. By the time Bob moved up to the property he had bought in another Sakar Hills village, we were great friends. We had many outings together, to shop in Haskovo, Harmanli or Stara Zagora, to eat in a wide variety of places, to visit Greece and the Black Sea coast. Bob has also provided a comfortable and spacious home for Nel, our foster-kitten, where she has now settled in very happily, along with one of Matt's young cats, 'Big Foot'. 

John & Carol left Liverpool to live in Biser village itself, along with their pedigree Bull Mastiff dogs - Susie, Ruby and Sox (not to mention the 4 puppies that Ruby produced during our stay!) John and Carol were kindness itself, taking us on visits to Svilengrad and Dimitrovgrad, and inviting us round for many a lively evening. We also met Carol's lovely daughter Nicola and her husband Stefan, visiting from their home in Sweden. In September John's friend George (we just needed Paul and Ringo to complete the Liverpool group) came to stay. We were guests at George's splendid birthday party, when he was overwhelmed by the many gifts from their Bulgarian friends – and a giant chocolate gateau from Margaret.

Last (but not least) we met a New Zealand family, who had moved from England to the same village as Bob: Ruth & Darryl and their children Alex, Aleesha, Erica and Sam. We had a very memorable evening at their home in mid-August, on a night which turned out to be a Lunar Eclipse! Over a long lingering meal under the stars, we all watched the 80% eclipse last for 3 hours. Soon afterwards Darryl and Alex had to return to England for a time, but we grew to love the rest of the family, visiting regularly to sample Ruth's muffins and other treats, to walk round the village, to take the girls on a visit to a Convent (where their fluency in the Bulgarian language astounded the Mother Superior), to laugh at their ginger-tom 'Cinnamon' being spoon-fed with cream, to enjoy family life …

Bulgarian: The Bulgarian villagers were extremely welcoming - many shared their produce with us, all gave a friendly wave or greeting. We only regret that we didn't have the language to talk at length. In addition to Ivan and our campsite neighbours Maria & Atanos (see 'Food' above), we were privileged to get to know others through English friends. We thank them all for their time and kindness and wish them well for the future.

At the home of John & Carol in Biser we dined with several of their neighbours, some of whom also joined us at the campsite for coffee. They had seen hard times: Boriana worked in Siberia when her children were small, and also in Greece. The powerfully built farmer Deliu, who had worked on building restoration near Berlin, was once a champion wrestler. Lubka, his wife, brought us fruit preserves and grapes from their land. Nikolai & Vilichka, with son Teodore, gave us home-made wine and cake. Nikolai had once worked as a chef in Germany and in the local Gargana Hotel, but was now a security guard in Lyubimets. Their large house, shared with Vilichka's mother, had been her childhood home. Indeed, rural houses are normally passed down through the generations and there are no estate agencies in the villages. The local mayor or post-master would know if any property was for sale.

We also met Martin & Shirley's neighbours in their village in the Sakar Hills. The indomitable Stefka Groseva, the Lady Mayor, is patiently teaching them the Bulgarian way of life and gardening. Across the road, another Ivan showed us round his dairy, where he is actually in the throes of converting the business from yogurt-making to wine.

For more images of people met in Bulgaria, click: People of Bulgaria

Details of locations, phone numbers, etc available from the Jeffes family at Sakar Hills Camping.

Car Hire: There is no local agent to rent a car or motorbike. The nearest we could find was Motoroads Ltd, a company based in Plovdiv, who would deliver to Haskovo. We agreed to hire a small car (Opal Corsa) for the month of August, paid a deposit and arranged collection in Haskovo.

At very short notice, we were informed that the Corsa had been in an accident (?) and they could only supply a brand new Chevrolet Laceti, through a partner firm, Puldin Rent-a-Car, which would cost extra. When we actually collected the car, it was an Opal Astra Classic – and far from new. The agent demanded full advance payment in cash, though we'd already emailed a substantial deposit by credit card and understood the balance could be paid in the same way. We refused to hand over the cash until the end of the rental period, but were allowed to drive away.

The car soon proved to have several faults and we emailed Puldin about them, saying we would not pay the extra fee agreed for the brand new Chevrolet. The immediate response was that the car must be returned to Puldin at once. A further email was sent (less than 2 hours later, and before we'd read the first one), saying that as we had not replied they would prosecute us for non-payment! Puldin had also alerted border guards that the car was not to be driven out of the country.

We immediately cancelled the credit card whose details they had, and arranged to return the car to Haskovo the next day. The deposit we'd already paid fell just €25 short of the number of days owing, and we gave the Puldin rep this amount in cash. He rang his office and a long argument followed. Puldin expected us to pay the higher daily rate for rentals of less than one month, even though they had demanded the car back! We refused, the police were mentioned, and Puldin finally backed off, with lots of threats of physical violence.

It was a good lesson in just how far the market economy has to go in Bulgaria. Clearly, businesses have no idea how to handle customer relations. A threatening attitude and 'take it or leave it' are still the order of the day.

The episode did end well for us, as we then made a private deal with Tsveta, a young friend of the Jeffes family who runs a boutique in Haskovo. She rented us her little car for a month and also arranged the necessary insurance cover, so that we could drive it over the border into Greece or Turkey if we wished.

Dentist: Harmanli has an excellent dental practice, open from 8-12 noon and 4-7 pm – a husband and wife team (plus assistant hygienist). The dentists speak fluent German, Greek and Russian, with a little English. Margaret had a check-up, clean/polish and one filling, all done the morning after she rang for an appointment. Total cost 60 lev (€30) – painless and friendly!

We also called there with John & Carol's friend, George, who was over from England on a 2-week visit. Having broken a crown on a front tooth, he was seen immediately. The dentist sent us into a small surgery in the centre of Harmanli for an X-ray (price 5 lev), with which we returned at once. She treated George there and then, and made 2 further appointments for him. He returned to England with a new porcelain crown costing €70, very impressed with the treatment.

Hairdresser: In Biser village there is a simple barber shop, run by Yorgo, where Barry was given a compulsory beard trim (no charge, just buy Yorgo a vodka – afterwards!) Margaret had a good hair cut at Karmen's salon in Harmanli. His English is fluent, having worked in Kent for several years.

Shopping: There are 2 small 'supermarkets' and one small hardware shop in the local village of Biser. However, there are plenty of small shops and stores selling food and a variety of hardware, knick-knacks and clothing, as well as weekly markets, in nearby towns. For computer accessories, disks, etc, there is a computer shop in Harmanli, as well as a branch of 'Office One Superstore'. We found English language DVDs on sale in a small CD/DVD shop in the Harmanli bazaar (but no English language books, magazines or newspapers).

None of the shops (including the German 'Kaufland' hypermarket in Haskovo) accepted our credit cards. We only used them for buying petrol, though even the larger service stations often claimed to have a 'problem' with their card reader!

The downside of this cash economy was shown when we bought a Philips DVD player at a branch of 'Bolta' (nationwide electrical dealers) in Harmanli. Within 2 weeks the machcine stopped working, so it was returned, complete with box, receipt and Philips worldwide guarantee. Had we been able to buy it with our Visa card, we might have claimed a refund through that. Instead we were treated with rudeness and suspicion – 'How do we know you didn't break it?' The shop would neither exchange the faulty player, nor refund our money. All they offered was to send it to their service centre in Plovdiv, who would initially check to see if there really were a fault ('how could the customer or the shop know?') and how it might have been caused. Only then would they decide whether it should or could be repaired or replaced. This process was likely to take at least 4 weeks. Protests that we were about to leave the country were of no avail.

We took the player to the larger branch of 'Bolta' in Haskovo, to receive the same treatment. We even consulted the Jeffes' family solicitor, Nadeshda Koleva, in Harmanli, who told us that there was no consumer protection in Bulgaria. The law only required the dealer to have a recently purchased faulty item repaired. She herself had returned a coffee maker to the same 'Bolta' store, and was still waiting after 12 weeks!

All we can do is to test the validity of Philips worldwide guarantee on our return to England.

Swimming: We didn't join the Biser village children at the stream (a tributary of the nearby Maritsa River), but did visit outdoor swimming pools (or 'Basins' in Bulgarian) in Harmanli and Lyubimets, each set in a garden with a small restaurant, shade, changing rooms, toilets, etc. The pools were clean and quiet, with a 4 lev (€2) entry fee for swimmers. Non-swimmers (for example, Barry) were welcome to sit and read a good book with a drink. Less comforting was the uncertainty about provision for the rescue of failed swimmers.

There is also a fine outdoor pool/restaurant at a motel, a little way from Harmanli on the road to Simeonovgrad.

For an overview of towns in the area, click: Haskovo District

Biser (meaning 'Pearl'): 'Sakar Hills Touring Park' campsite is just off the E80, between Lyubimets and Harmanli, past Biser railway halt on the way into the village. There is a small shop/café 5 minutes' walk away, on the other side of the bridge across the river. Stroll a little further past the school and another shop into the central square, where there is a bar/café, a barber and sometimes a few market stalls. Most of the villagers work on the land and on the far side, towards Cherna Mogila, is the gipsy quarter. Cattle and goats are still herded along the lanes, while donkey-carts are more common then cars or tractors around the nearby fields.

We found Biser church locked, but did visit the curious Nikolai Jenkins Home, a small mock-Tudor house set in a lovely flower garden. It was built in memory of Nikolai Vesselinov-Jenkins (1957-1985) by his mother, a doctor who came from Biser. After graduating from Leeds University in England, Nikolai studied the Greek Orthodox Saints Cyril and Methodius (brothers who converted the Slavs to Christianity in the 9thC). They translated the Bible into the language later known as Old Church Slavonic (or Old Bulgarian) and invented a Slavic alphabet based on Greek and Hebrew characters that, in its final Cyrillic form, is still in use as the alphabet for modern Russian, Bulgarian and a number of other Slavic languages. Nikolai Jenkins was the author of a book 'Saints Cyril and Methodius: the Bulgarian Mission', published after he was killed in a car crash. The memorial home in Biser is freely open from April to October, when the friendly woman caretaker is there. It houses an exhibition of frescoes and icons depicting the conversion of Bulgaria, as well as information (in English) about Nikolai and his work.

The local Saint Gargana is associated with Biser – a beautiful woman who rejected the Ottoman ruler in these parts in the 19thC and stood up for an independent Bulgaria. A monument by the railway crossing tells her story (in Bulgarian) and we heard it beautifully sung by a school caretaker! A path leads down from the monument to a fresh water spring, where Lord Byron reputedly stopped to drink on his way to Greece. It is still used by the villagers.

Bulgarska Polyana ('Bulgarian Field'): A very small and semi-derelict village in the Sakar Hills, between Harmanli and Topolovgrad, with one café/bar. Walking along a lane here, we passed a still (apparatus for distilling alcoholic liquor) in the process of making 'rakia' - a potent clear brandy. A fire burned slowly beneath it, the alcohol dripping into a bowl. 'Is it legal?' we later asked an expatriate friend. 'Well, the Mayor runs the still in our village' she replied!

Overall, this is a prime example of a village that will not survive. The movement of young people to the towns of Bulgaria and the countries of the EU, an ageing and dying population, the mechanisation of an undeveloped agriculture, the closure and abandonment of collective farms, the disappearance of schools, shops and other services and the collapse of village-based industry (all the result of 45 years of 'communist' misrule) make the end inevitable.

Dimitrovgrad: A large industrial town built in 1947 on the River Maritsa, about 15 km north of Haskovo. We visited the enormous Sunday Market there, which spreads over a huge area with an astonishing array of clothing, shoes, household goods, tools etc at incredibly low prices. Over the road is a separate Sunday Auto-Market, selling second-hand cars and every spare part and accessory imaginable. There was also a corner dealing in dogs and puppies, pets, pigeons and fowl!

For more information, visit: Dimitrovgrad

Harmanli ('Threshing mills'): Our favourite town, 10 km NW of Biser, founded by the Turks in the 16thC around a caravanserai for travellers on the road to Constantinople. It has a wide range of places to eat and drink, post office, banks, shops and a bazaar, with a busy Saturday market for local produce. The only historic sights are a stretch of wall from the Ottoman caravanserai, near the tall Hebros Hotel, and the old hump-backed Gurbav Bridge built in 1585. It now spans a dry diverted river bed, behind the police station, near the tennis club/restaurant.

For much more information, visit: Harmanli Town.

Haskovo: This city developed from the town of Marsa, founded here in 985 AD. It's the regional centre, 33 km west of Harmanli, and home of Bulgaria's largest cigarette factory (tobacco being an important local crop). The city centre is very pleasant, with pedestrian shopping areas, good restaurants, many hotels and some National Revival buildings. Parking is difficult, with organised paying car parks. 'Kaufland' hypermarket has its own free parking, though it's a long way from the centre.

For more information, click: Haskovo.

Hlyabovo ('Bread Village'): Another small village at about 1,300 ft in the Sakar Hills, between Harmanli and Topolovgrad. It has shops and several cafes, post office and petrol station, as well as a broom factory (using local twigs)! Home to good expatriate friends, we visited it often.

Kolarovo: A tiny village among the vineyards of the Sakar Hills, a couple of kilometres off the road from Harmanli to Topolovgrad. The modern church was founded by Stefka Groseva, mayor of this and other local villages, who saw the project through to completion. There is a huge new winery (its 'Castra Rubra' label named after the nearby Roman fort) serving vineyards stretching to the horizon. We understand that the winery is about to open to the public with conducted tours and sales of its famous Merlot wines.

A smaller winery on the main road at the Kolarovo turn-off, welcomes visitors to look round and buy wine.

Lyubimets: A small town 10 km east of Biser. It has a few shops and places to eat and drink, a fine central square, a post office with ATM, a hotel, a swimming pool and a small Sunday market. Lying on the fertile Thracian plain, fed by the Maritsa River, it's also the watermelon capital of Bulgaria, with a bustling wholesale market alongside the railway tracks.

A wide variety of food is available along the highway, at the 24-hour 'Bolarka' Snack Bar. Catering for truckers, it serves good pizzas, ham & eggs, chips and grills, complete with WiFi internet and an ATM cash machine.

From Lyubimets, a fine mountain road leads south into the Rhodopes and on towards the Greek border and the Turkish/Muslim towns described below.

Svilengrad: The busy border town on the Maritsa River is just 3 km from the Greek border crossing point at Novo Selo, leading to the Aegean coast at Alexandroupolis. Another road and a new motorway take 15 kilometres to reach the Turkish frontier at Kapitan Andreevo. From there, another motorway runs to Edirne and Istanbul. This is indeed the doorway to the East!

Svilengrad is a fine town with a good range of shops, several hotels, a modern daily market, banks and restaurants. The very best restaurant we found during the summer was the Lozata, near the Central Hotel.  Ottoman remains include Mustafa Pasha's 21-arched stone bridge over the Maritsa, built in 1529, a Hamam baths and caravanserai.

For more information, click: Svilengrad

Topolovgrad: A small town in the Sakar Hills, 50 km north of Svilengrad, quiet now that its immense cigarette factory has closed. It has a few shops and café/bars, 2 hotels, a restaurant with a small swimming pool, bank and post office.

Along with young expatriate New Zealanders, Erica and Aleesha, we visited the Holy Trinity Monastery, 10 km south-east of the town, still inhabited by Orthodox nuns. Charmed by Aleesha's fluent Bulgarian, the Mother Superior talked of her own life and kindly showed us round the gardens and the church: a sanctuary with the bones of 19th century Freedom Fighters. The Monastery is set in lovely woodlands, where a path leads from the stream steeply up to a cave – a popular pilgrimage place in summer.

For more information, click: Topolovgrad

The Rhodope Mountains straddle the Greek/Bulgarian border, an area steeped in Thracian mythology - home of the cult of Orpheus, once rich from gold and other mineral ores. Unlike the rest of Bulgaria, the population of this remote area of the south-eastern Rhodope are ethnic Turks and Muslim Bulgarians (Pomaks). The communities work on the land, tending sheep and goats or growing tobacco. Minarets mark the villages, where the women wear thick Turkish woollens. Driving through the wonderful hills and forests that cloak the country to the south of the Arda River, we visited the following towns.

Ivailovgrad: Take the road south from Lyubimets through the hills, crossing the Arda River downstream of the country's longest hydro-electric dam (passport needed for the checkpoint). Ivailovgrad seemed a dreary little town, where we had difficulty finding a café – or even directions to the magnificent Roman Villa Armira just a couple of miles south, which was well worth the excursion.

For more information, click: Ivailovgrad

Kardzhali: One of the last towns to remain in Ottoman hands (finally falling to the Bulgarian army in 1912), it was founded by a 17thC Turkish general, Kurdzhi Ali. Its Historical Museum contains finds from Perperikon.

For more information, click: Kardzhali

Kroumovgrad: A small Muslim town to the west of Ivailovgrad, along the mountain road towards Momchilgrad. The new Hotel Via had a surprisingly good bar and bistro.

For more information, click: Kroumovgrad

Madzharovo: A mining village on the River Arda, settled by refugees from Aegean Thrace during the Greek civil war of 1945. The Madzharovo Nature Reserve is the site of a Vulture Centre, as the steep gorges of the Arda are a breeding ground of three kinds of vulture: Egyptian, Griffon and Black. Visit their website - Vultures in the Rhodopes - for more information.

Momchilgrad: A Muslim town, 15 km south of Kardzhali, where Turkish is still spoken. It was at the centre of the name-changing campaign in the mid-1980's, when about 40 protestors were killed.

Zlatograd ('Gold Town'): A town SW of Momchilgrad, very close to the Greek border, where gold was once extracted from the river. The older part of town is signed as an Ethnographic Museum, with restored traditional houses, café, church and folk museum to visit. Over coffee and cakes, we enjoyed talking with the school's English teacher, a graduate of Sofia University. She hoped that the new border crossing (almost finished), which will link the area with Komotini in Greece, will lead to improved prosperity and tourism. There is certainly scope for more crossing points between these two EU countries.

For more information, click: Zlatograd

Ivan Atanasov is the editor of the local newspapers 'Novini' (= News) and 'Sakarski Echo', based in Harmanli. Hearing about us through a mutual friend, the solicitor Nadeshda Koleva, Ivan arranged a meeting at the campsite in Biser in mid-August.

Ivan was particularly interested in the story of Nel, our one-eyed kitten, found starving and abandoned on a mountain road, who now lived with us (see above). We also spent some time describing all the many changes that have occurred since our first visit to Bulgaria in the summer of 1989, cycling from the UK to Istanbul. We also discussed the inequalities that went with the advent of capitalism into what was (and still is, to some extent), a crudely industrialised feudal society.

He gave our story a full page in the next edition of 'Novini', with a 30-minute interview and photographs of us, the motorhome and our bicycles. Fame at last – if only we knew what it said!

The image below shows the top half of the newspaper page.

In mid-August we used our hire car for a 2-day visit to Sofia, accompanied by Martin & Shirley Jeffes. Previously we had only skirted Bulgaria's capital on the Ring Road, so it was a good chance to explore the city, home to 1.5 million people (over 10% of the population). Inhabited since Neolithic times, it's Europe's highest capital at 545 m (1,800 ft), making it pleasantly cooler than the sun-baked Thracian Plain.

The 270 km (170 mile) drive from Biser to Sofia took a steady 4 hours. The E80 via Harmanli and Haskovo to Plovdiv parallels the railway along the Maritsa Valley. It's a slow road, too narrow for the heavy traffic it carries to and from Turkey, especially in summer. Progress was much smoother once we joined the 'Trakia (Thracian) Highway' – the motorway from Plovdiv to Sofia - with a lunch break at the Happy Bar & Grill at a Shell services on the way.

Entering the heart of the city, we appreciated Martin's knowledge. He directed us past the huge St Aleksandir Nevski Church, the brightly tiled and gilded St Nikolai Russian Church, the National Art Gallery with sculpture-decked roof, the Party House (a Stalinist relic) and the Presidential Residence, complete with its pair of sentries. Traffic was slow but we kept moving until we met a protest march in the central St Nedelya Square, demanding the resignation of the President and Government (which seemed a bit over-ambitious!)

We went directly to our elegant little hotel, the Maria Luisa on Blvd Maria Luisa, about 1 km north of the Square (www.marialuisa-bg.com). A double room (en-suite, TV and fridge) cost €80 for two, including a generous breakfast buffet. With the car safely stowed in the nearby indoor car park (15 leva or €7.50 for 24 hours), we were well placed to explore on foot.

The renovated pre-World-War-I Central Market Hall, the Hali, was just along from the hotel. Its glass roof, supported on cast iron pillars, overlooks 2 storeys of stalls and cafes: a good place for a cup of coffee while people-watching. An outdoor market fills the narrow lanes behind the Hali, around the restored Sofia Synagogue/Museum, while over the road from the Hali lies the 16thC Banya Bashi Mosque.

The Mosque was open but, as we removed our shoes to admire the interior, the way was immediately blocked by a man demanding an entrance fee. Even the stunning mosques of Edirne and Istanbul are freely open to all (with a discreet box for Contributions) so we left Banya Bashi unseen. Barry, admonished for placing a shoe on the carpet in the doorway during these discussions, drew on his recent reading of Richard Dawkins to denounce this as superstitious nonsense! Which it is.

A pedestrian subway below Blvd Maria Luisa gives access to Sofia's new metro system, and also to a subterranean plaza with the weathered 14thC St Petka Samardjiiska Church (closed for restoration), its roof poking above street level. In another underpass we saw the substantial remains of the eastern gateway to Roman Serdica, with courses of later Byzantine and medieval brickwork in the defensive towers.

Walking into the city centre, past the Archaeological Museum and the Palace of Justice, we found Ul Graf Ignatiev, a street of new and second-hand book stalls, but only bought the excellent weekly English language paper, the Sofia Echo.

Shirley's birthday was celebrated with a splendid meal at the Steak House Restaurant (unique in Sofia for its steaks, and handily placed round the corner from our hotel). The balmy evening was completed with a moonlit stroll round the quiet centre. Our impression was of an orderly grid pattern of tree-lined boulevards, downtown streets with pavement cafes, bright new shops and fine National Revival public buildings, contrasting with the peeling stucco of dilapidated late 19th century properties still awaiting restoration. We felt quite safe and, though not lovers of large cities, we did like Sofia.

Next morning Shirley took a taxi to the Airport to visit family in the UK, leaving us to enjoy a lengthy hotel breakfast with Martin (food which kept us going until late afternoon!) We began to walk it off by browsing the popular outdoor market, then the flea market in Aleksandir Nevski Square in front of the Church, offering everything from old shoes to Russian medals and Roman coins! We paid our respects in the Church - completed in 1912 as a massive and impressive memorial to the 200,000 Russian soldiers lost in the war for Bulgaria's independence in 1877 - before having coffee in the adjacent park.

By chance, we passed the Presidential Residence on the hour, to witness the goose-stepping performance of the changing of the guard. Another good find was the wonderful Orange Bookshop on Graf Ignatiev: 3 storeys of stationery, disks and, of course, books. There was a wide choice in English, just charging the cover price (not doubling it, as in the bookshops of Athens!) and we left with a heavy bag.

The next couple of hours were spent in the Archaeological Museum, the oldest in the country, sited inside the restored 'Big Mosque' which dates from 1494. A superb collection of artefacts and sculptures from around the country, covering 3,000 years of Thracian and Roman history, was housed on 2 floors, though they needed more imaginative display to interest the public at large. We had the place to ourselves, apart from one elderly American tourist - perhaps the 10 leva (€5) entry fee helped to keep the numbers down.

Sofia's past reflects the history of Bulgaria. The first inhabitants were the Thracian Serdi tribe; the Romans called the town Serdica; the Slavs renamed it Sredets (meaning 'Middle' of the Balkans) and the Byzantine name was Triaditsa. During the Second Bulgarian Empire, around 1300 AD, its name finally became Sofia (Greek for 'Wisdom'), after the 6thC Church of St Sofia which still stands. Captured by the Ottomans in 1382 (and held for 5 centuries), it became the official capital of Bulgaria a year after its liberation in 1879.

Having, we realise, only scratched the surface of this Capital City, we left in the late afternoon to drive back to Biser, breaking the journey once again for a meal at the Happy Bar & Grill, just before Plovdiv. Should we return to Sofia, a priority will be the National History Museum, inside a former government palace in the suburb of Boyana, 7 km SW of the city centre.