Take a look at the breathtaking footage of the medieval fortress Asara in the Eastern Rhodopes
Tuesday 23 January 2024 08:36
Tuesday, 23 January 2024, 08:36
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Momchilgrad municipality released unique footage a few days ago which went viral on social media. The video, shot using a drone, offers a bird’s eye view of the mysterious medieval fortress Asara in the region of the village of Ralitsa in the Rhodopes.
PHOTO Tencho Petkov Photography
The remains of the fortress date back to the 11th-12th century. They rise on top of a prehistoric rock sanctuary and a crypt. A trapezoidal sacrificial altar has been hacked out on the fortress site. The ruins of two large towers are still visible that were once connected by a passage hacked out into the rock. In one of the towers there are traces of a residential area and a chapel. Archaeologists discovered precious medallions made of bone that were once elements of a gold-inlaid icon.
Video:
PHOTO Tencho Petkov Photography
Not far from Asara fortress, Boyalak waterfall rises to a height of some 25 m. The bizarre-looking rocks formed after the waterfall are also well worth seeing.
The Asar fortress in Momchilgrad municipality is not the only fortress of that name in Bulgaria. The word “asar” comes from the Arabic-Turkic “hisar”, “hisarlak” meaning fortress, fortification, pile of stones. That is why there are many fortresses in the Bulgarian lands bearing such names.
Гледка от тракийска крепост Асара
PHOTO Tencho Petkov Photography
More:
- The mystery of the wooden mosque in Podkova village in the Rhodopes
- Gyullek waterfall – the magnificent “secret” tucked away in the Eastern Rhodopes
- Walking the trails of history in Haskovo and the Rhodope
Editing by Veneta Nikolova
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
This publication was created by: БНР екип