Monday 7th July 2008 – Madara, Bulgaria

We finally left Drianovo! Although the campsite is basic, it is better than most in Bulgaria and I would recommend this as a stopping point for anyone who is motorhoming through the country. The area is beautiful and with the monastery, Etara, walking and the rail line available for trips north and south, there is much to do.
Our journey was approximately 180km and was very easy driving on what was, for Bulgaria, excellent roads with far fewer potholes per kilometre than normal. After passing Veliko Turnovo and heading west, we soon came on to a plain and most of the rest of the journey was on flat, fast roads with relatively little traffic. We past huge fields of sunflowers, standing like soldiers with their heads uniformly pointing to the sun. The other main crop was cereals, much of which had been harvested or was being so by combine harvesters. The poverty of the agricultural areas was evident by the many horse and cart that we saw, one was acting as a minibus with six passengers sat behind the driver in the multi-purpose cart. Another flat-bedded cart carried small bales of hay stacked many high with the driver perched on the top, some 2.5m above the horse with long reins between. Getting on and off the bales must have been quite a challenge and he must have been very confident of the horse in order to control it from that height whilst travelling on a major road. He also had a young horse tethered alongside, getting it used to the cart and the traffic.
We arrived above the village of Madara at the the foot of huge sandstone cliffs that have been sculpted into fascinating shapes by the elements. This was where our campsite was located and we were glad to see signs to it, hopefully indicating that it was still in business. We urgently needed supplies, so decided to go down into the village first. Bulgarian roads have been very sensibly built, skirting towns and villages and rarely going through them. In our 3 hour drive, we didn't pass a single shop, only cafés and restaurants and only a few of those. Fortunately we quickly found a 'supermarket' in Madara and, although it was really just a normal shop, it had everything that we needed.
The campsite (Camping Madara) is described in our 19 year old guidebook as “one of Bulgaria's better camping grounds” and, although this doesn't mean a lot given the woeful condition of most of them, we had high hopes. They were dashed when we arrived after driving up the rough track. The condition of the site had obviously degenerated over the intervening years and it was obvious that there hadn't been any further investment. We had great difficulty finding anywhere that was level and not in the blazing sun but eventually settled for a pitch on the hard-standing in front of the main building and, by using the ramps, we levelled the van. By now it was 13:30 and we had some lunch of Greek taramasalata.
After lunch, I investigated the campsite facilities. We had our own private bathroom (because we were the only guests!), which consisted of a foot toilet and a second foot toilet that had been converted into a shower room with a shower with no head – just a pipe. We decided to use our own facilities! It was obvious that the campsite used to be quite good, there had been a restaurant and there was still a bar with a large area, shaded by trees, with seats and tables. However, given that we were the only guests in early July and we only paid 20 leva (less than £10), it is clear that they earned very little money from the site and would have had nothing to invest in the facilities. I wonder how long the campsite will be able to continue to operate – as the chalets condition deteriorates, there will come a time when investment is imperative and will the money be available? The concept of camping as we know it, with tents, caravans and motorhomes, hardly exists in Bulgaria. Although they do use the chalets (or bungalows), these are basic and very cheap and they can't be very profitable. We have already heard that many campsites on the Black Sea coast have been closed – bought by Russians to be turned into luxury apartments or hotels. It is difficult to see a future for the sites – if they were of a higher standard, more Western European campers would come to Bulgaria and the sites would be profitable but there is no money available to improve the standards. A Catch 22.
We came to see the famous Madara Rider, the 8th century carving on the sandstone cliffs and we set off on the short walk back to the road where it is located. We discovered that there was much more there than we expected. Two caves in the cliff and an area around the spring near its base, were settled in the 4th millennium BC. The Thracians, occupying the area from the the 4th century BC to the 4th century AD, considered the cliffs to be sacred and built a fortress and settlement protected by a large wall, on top of the cliff. The worn but still impressive horseman looks ancient but is actually from the early 8th century, built in the time of Khar Terval and expresses the power of the Bulgarian state and its victories over Byzantium. However, treaties were soon signed with Byzantium and these are witnessed by Greek inscriptions carved into the cliff around the horseman, detailing the agreements over a period of over one hundred years. The people were only converted to Christianity in the 8th century and, I assume, that this is associated with the Byzantine treaties. There is also the site of a pagan temple and a sacred area that was quite fascinating. The Thracians worshipped rocks (something that we had also seen on the Greek island of Samothrace) and the sacred area had an example of a large rock surrounded by a wall. Another part of the area had a stone platform with a series of stone holes (basins?) cut into it. A board in the sacred area claimed that it was “A zone with high concentrations of energy fields” and that “According to legend – walking barefoot on the grass at dawn charges with energy”. I can't say that I noticed it when I was there and I didn't have any desire to return at dawn. I had left Jane at the pagan temple, below the sacred area, whilst I climbed the path up the cliff. I had only intend to go part way up in order to see the view but found the energy to climb to the top, so perhaps I had been energised by the sacred area! The view was fantastic, stretching a huge distance over the flat land below. Although the Thracians settled there because of the sacred rocks, the commanding view and vertical cliffs were very good from a defensive standpoint.
There were three cafés / restaurants on the road near the horseman and we decided to eat there after showering back at the van. We chose the most substantive of the establishments (they were all very small) and were pleased to see that a number of locals were eating there. The food was simple but very good, all cooked by the owner who was a one-man band, waiting on the tables and cooking. This meant that we had to wait for a while for the food but it was worth waiting for and also gave me the opportunity to sample some more Bulgarian beers and Jane the opportunity to try some more Mastika (Ouzo equivalent). As this was our last night in Bulgaria, we felt that we should also try some of their Rakiya – a powerful plum brandy. Having had Greek Raki and a number of other foreign fire-waters, we decided to have one between us. Needless to say that had a number of brands and we chose based on the owners advice. It was very pleasant and, despite being powerful, it didn't hit the back of the throat like many such spirits. All the same, I suspect that it wouldn't taste the same if we took some back to England, so we won't.
Photos: The Madara Rider; One of the caves at Madara – holes had been cut all over the cliff face as some part of their ritual; The cliffs showing a small part of the view from them – the well hidden path winds its way up the cliff at this point; The cliffs in the late evening as view from the road to the campsite. The holes are the remains of a rock-cut church.