POST-CONFERENCE FIELD TRIP
Kardzhali is located in the low eastern part of Rhodope Mountains, on both banks of the Arda River between the Kardzhali Reservoir to the west and the Studen Kladenets Reservoir 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 location of Kardzhali has been inhabited since the Neolithic. Plenty of artifacts have been found during the archaeological excavations comprising ceramics and primitive tools. Most of them are now exhibited in the local museum of history. There are many stone castles and palaces the Thracians built in the region — Perperek, Ustra, Vishegrad. The most magnificent is Perperikon where a residence of a Thracian king was situated. The place is getting more popular as archaeological works are in progress and new artifacts are being discovered. The Kardzhali Museum of History has one of the most extensive exhibitions in Southern Bulgaria. This includes pre-historic tools and ceramics from the Thracian cities of Perperikon and Tatul, Christian icons and ethnographic exhibits. It is located in the old konak (the Turkish town-hall built around 1870) with its period exterior architecture.
Formerly Kardzhali was a tobacco-processing center, but for economic reasons some of the communist era industrial plants are no longer operative. The large deposits of lead and zinc ore in the area make the town an attractive location for the metallurgy and machine building industry.
Retail trade and services constitute the largest share of local production. The abundance of cultural and natural sights in the area also makes it a promising area for tourism.
Perperikon is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, 15 km northeast of the present-day town of Kardzhali. Human activity in the area dates back to 5000 B.C. The first traces of civilization on the hill date from the Bronze Age, while the ceramics found on the place date from the Early Iron Age, as well as the impressive round altar, almost 2 m in diameter, hewn out of the rocks.
At the time of the Roman Empire, a giant multi-story palace was erected according to archaeological evidence, and an imposing with its size fortress was built around the hill, with walls as thick as 2.8 m. Temples and quarters of residential buildings were also constructed in the fortress. The megalith complex had been laid in ruins and re-erected many times in history.