Perperikon and Tatul

Antiquity Temple and Sanctuary at Perperikon.
It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bulgaria.

Religious activity at the top of the cliff began in the 5th century BC. It is associated with the beliefs of the Copper Age people, who started the cult of the sun God.

Also according to the legends, two crucial prophecies were made from the altar of this temple. The first one predicted great conquest and glory for Alexander the Great, and the second, made a several centuries later, predetermined the power and strength for the first Roman Emperor – Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. These religious practices were typical for the temple of Dionysius, which was long sought in the Rhodope mountain. The latest archaeological research show clearly that the temple was located exactly in Perperikon.

Thracian Tomb of village of Tatul – Temple of Orpheus.

Orpheus was considered one of the chief poets and musicians of antiquity, and is still a symbol of the art of music.
The first tells of Orpheus’s descent into Hell. The musician was so distraught by the sudden death of his wife, Eurydice, that he climbed down into the Kingdom of the dead and with a song, softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone. There was one condition: Eurydice was to walk behind Orpheus, who was not to turn round until both of them had seen the light of the sun. Of course, Orpheus did turn round.
 A further legend tells that Orpheus’s head and his lyre floated down the river Hebros and across the sea to the island of Lesbos. There the locals erected them on a stone column, from where they began to prophesy.
The tombs are not the only traces of human activity on the hill of the vilage of Tatul. There used to be a prehistoric shrine at its foot which probably went on being used until the introduction of Christianity in the 6th Century. A probable explanation for the mixing of tombs and shrine is the belief the Ancient Thracians had that their rulers became demi-gods after they died.

Stone Mushrooms
The rocks are one of the most unique and whimsical rock formations you’ll ever see.

Of course, it takes hundreds of years of erosion for that process to be complete, but the results are fairly typical: mushrooms. Gigantic, freestanding pillars in the distinct shape of mushrooms.
In a long-dry lake bed, these groups of massive stone pillars bear a striking resemblance to clumps of everyone’s favorite fungi.
Stone mushrooms in Beli Plast in Bulgaria are unique. As in entire clumps of massive stone pillars grouped together just like mushrooms in the wild. They are formed just the way table rocks are formed: eroded into shape over years and years, as the water that once nearly submerged them lapped against their walls. And then eroded some more by the wind long after the water had receded for good.