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DISCOVER STRANDJA – THE FOREST HEAVEN ON EARTH.
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"Stranger, you who come here, be healthy!" - This blessing is inscribed on a marble tomb plate, built in the altar of the Old Catholic church in Malko Tarnovo and dates back to the 2nd century BC. "For God's sake, stranger, do not stop in the middle of the road, but continue to enjoy Strandja's sea of virgin forests!", a Bulgarian writer said in the beginning of the 20th century. And we can not disagree with them. Nature in Strandja is a breathtaking combination of the sea, the mountain, and the Mediterranean sun. The message of the antique inscription is clear - Strandja, inhabited by humans since prehistorical times, according to the beliefs of the ancient people, gives whoever visits it a strong spirit and a healthy body. Even nowadays everybody who comes to these lands and explores the richness of Strandja's nature, bows down before the monuments of its ancient culture, and is fascinated by the spiritual heritage, preserved in the customs, traditions, folklore, and mythology of the local people.
Strandja is not a conventional tourist path but it offers a unique and beautiful adventure. In Strandja, everybody will feel like a child of Mother Nature, well protected from the noisiness of modern civilization. Among the quiet humbleness of the small village churches and chapels, one will nurture their spirituality, because there is no other place where it is so well kept as in Brashlian, Zabernovo, Kosti, Balgari and many other Strandja villages and towns. Around the aiasmas (curing springs) the stories about magicians, fairies, and elves are still alive, and so is the secret of the ancient custom of fire-dancing. The old Strandja houses, filled with warmth and hospitality, offer a cozy sense of comfort.
When you head to the most Southeastern part of Bulgaria to Malko Tarnovo or along the sea coast to Ahtopol and Sinemoretz, you soon get into the gentle embrace of the broad mountain chain Strandja. Less then an hour later, you will be in the heart of the national park of the same name, the biggest and one of the most exotic nature parks in Bulgaria. Found in 1995, it covers 1161 sq. km. (116 136 ha) and includes most of the Bulgarian part of central Strandja all the way to the Black Sea coast. Its length (East - West) is about 50 km, and the average width (North - South) - about 25 km.
Strandja mountain has an abundance of birds. There are certain times of the year when the number of bird species reaches 261, which represents 68% of all the birds found in Bulgaria. A considerable portion of this number are migrating birds from one of the major European bird migration routes - VIA PONTICA (the Black Sea Route), which passes over the Strandja mountain. 17 of the bird species are listed in the Red Book of Bulgaria and 1 is listed in the World Red Book. There are 54 mammal species such as wolves (population 20-25), wild boars (460), deer (660), jackals (2000), wild cats, rabbits, etc. The otter population in the river of Veleka is the best preserved one in Europe. 6 species are listed in Bulgaria’s Red Book and 1 (the monk-seal) in the World Red Book. The actual number of animal species is probably higher than 54, for the caves of Strandja are only partially explored.
The West slopes - towards Malko Tarnovo - are more rough, rocky, and severe. Two ridges dominate the mountain - Rezovsko and Bosnensko. The Rezovsko ridge continues in Turkey and the highest Bulgarian peak of Strandja (Goliamoto Gradiste - 709 m) is located on it. On a nice day you can look at the Black Sea from the peak. The Bosnensko ridge is on the North border of the Strandja National park. It is almost parallel to the Rezovsko ridge. It starts from the peak of Kervansarai on the Bulgarian Turkish border and finishes South of Tzarevo.
The valleys of the rivers Veleka and Rezvayа, flowing through the park, are captivating with their numerous picturesque meanders. Veleka "enters" Bulgaria via a beautiful rocky gorge. The thick morning mists are a popular phenomenon along the lower parts of the two rivers in the summer. Viewed from the mountain ridges they create the illusion that the Sea has come to the mountain and has formed numerous gulfs and fiords. Almost the whole territory of the West part of the park is covered by karst. There are impressive hills and slopes formed by huge rocks, gorges and rifts.
Fire-dancing called Nestinarstvo extends a bridge between the past and the future, and shows a tiny fragment of the cultural heritage of our nation. It is something unique and almost unknown though it has existed in the heart of Europe for centuries on. The phenomenon still remains unveiled; an enigma posing many unanswered questions. Fire dancing is one of the oldest pagan rituals in the Balkans. It has defied the persecutions of both Christianity and communism to survive through the millennia.
In a trance-like state, locals in the tiny Strandja village of Bulgari still dance barefoot on burning embers, just as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. They say: "One cannot be taught to dance over embers unless they were born to be nestinari (fire dancers). You should believe that God will keep you safe, you should be very good and wish evil to no one. Then you will not feel the heat". They also believe mental preparation and cold feet, along with the thundering, monotonous music of bagpipes and drum are key. The performance begins at sunset, when the chief nestinar, a man wearing a white shirt and a red sash around his waist, spreads the embers in a circle in Bulgari's square.
The street lamps go off and the crowd approaches in silence. Only the drum echoes primitively across the mountains. The nestinars dance around the circle, carrying icons and then suddenly walk through the fire. Their feet sometimes touch lightly and sometimes press down in hard circular motions, crossing the coals until they put down the blaze. Their faces are pale and their eyes half-closed. Fire dancers say they fall into a spiritual trance during the performance and are believed to foretell the future. Historian Valeria Fol at Bulgaria's Academy of Science, who has studied fire dancing since 1972, writes in her book "Fire and Music" about a prophecy she heard from a Greek nestinar in 1993, predicting last decade's wars in former Yugoslavia. Anathematized by the Orthodox Church and banned by Bulgaria's communist government, fire dancing is traced back to the Tracians, Bulgaria's most ancient inhabitants who worshiped the sun and believed in immortality. The fire dancers in Bulgari say they inherited the custom from their grandparents, for whom the ritual was a purely Christian duty. If they observed it they stayed healthy and harvested rich crops, if not, disease and poverty befell the community.
