Kurdzhali The Municipality of Kardjali is located in the south east part of Bulgaria, in the East - Rhodoppean Mountain massif. Kardzhali is in the low eastern part of Rhodope Mountains, on both banks of the Arda River between the Kardzhali Dam to the west and the Studen Kladenets dam to the east. The town is 260 km southeast of Sofia. It has a crossroad position from Thrace to the Aegean Sea - part of European transportation route 9. The mild climate, the favorable geographical location, the rich cultural- historical heritage, the two so called "water lakes" - the dams contribute for the all year around development of all forms of tourism. The big bio-variety and the unique nature sights, the untouched environment- not spoiled with any industry and urbanization provide excellent conditions for eco- tourism which is now one of the main priorities of the local administration. The Municipality has 44829 inhabitants and is 240 meters above sea level. There are a few reserves that are protected in the area, like: "Kamenna svatba" ("Stone wedding"); "Kamenni Gabi" ("Stone mushrooms") near the village of Beli Plast; "Skalen Prozorets" ("Rocky window") near the village of Kostino. There also are a few protected areas with a variety of some world threatened with extinction species of the fauna and the flora- "Venerin kosam"; "Yumruk skala" and "Sredna Arda". In the past Kardzhali was big producer of tobacco but since the communism fell most of the places for tobacco were closed.
The beautiful valley of Borovitsa River (together with Arda, one of the two main rivers flowing into the Kurdzhali Dam) can be obzerved to the north-west of the town and while being there.
The Municipality defers from most of the other towns with better health care system of private and well equipped medical centers and professional stuff. There are plenty of schools and other educational institutions. On November 20, year 2006, was the official opening of Kardzhali's new symbol, namely - the "Orpheus' Lyre" plastics. Hundreds of guests and people from the town of Kardzhali gathered in the space in front of "21st Century" Bus Station. The grand opening ceremony started with a procession, led by the majorettes and the town's brass band. History: The lands where Kardjali is located were inhabited since the Neolithic. There has been lots of digging and researching in the area. Lots of discoveries like ceramics and primitive tools have been made. Most of them are now exhibited in the local museum of history. The region started to develop with the coming of the Thracian tribes. They have built many sacred places- temples of the gods of Sun and Earth. There are plenty of castles and palaces the Thracians built in the region - Perperek, also Ustra and Vishegrad. The most magnificent is Perperikon which was a king`s residence from the Thracians. In the Byzantine period the town was known as Achridos- a Christian Eparchy. There are plenty of legends for the person after whom the town was named- Kardzha Ali. The old people say that his birth place is Buhara or Alanya, which is a harbor town in the district of Konia. There is a famous legend about Kardzha Ali that says that when the turks attacked the Rhodoppi area - at the rulement of sultan Murad I (1360-1389), the armies were lead by Kardzha Ali. He was killed in one of the fights and at the same place they formed the town and named it by him. Kardzhali and its neighborhood became part of the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia under the stipulations of the Berlin Congress of 1878, but after the reunification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia in 1885, was ceded back to the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman rule ended during the First Balkan War, with its liberation by the Bulgarian General Vasil Delov on 21 October 1912. The day has been celebrated yearly, since 1937, as a municipal holiday through concerts and commemorative events. Kardzhali was declared the centre of Kardzhali Province in 1949. Demographics: Kardzhali has an ethnically mixed population of about 51,000 (2006 est.). In 1989 the population was estimated at 59,000. Kardzhali is currently (2006) the Municipality of Bulgaria with the highest proportion of ethnic Turks. As of 2003, the population of Kardzhali municipality consisted of 62% Turks, 31% Bulgarians and 3% Roma, among others. The regional government today is primarily in the hands of the Turkish dominated Movement for Rights and Freedoms political party. Climate: It rains the most in the autumn- winter period when the influence of the Mediterranean Sea is very strong. Because of being down south there is either lots of raining or snowing. It rains in the spring too but not more than the usual and necessary for the earth. From July is when the raining stops and it is mostly dry t the end of the summer. The annual raining amount is about 600 l/sq m. |