June 6, 2022
The front/obverse of Bulgarian Stolinki coins (1) depicts the Madara (2) Rider, a cliff-face carving above the village of Madara, southwest of Varna on the rail line to Shumen.
After walking through Varna's sea-side Primorski Park (3), I caught the train heading inland and was the only passenger who alighted at Madara. Finding my way in the village was easy: there is basically only one road and I needed to go uphill.
A stone staircase leads to the cliff face, carved in the 800s C.E., during Bulgaria' s first empire period. The carving depicts a man on horseback having just vanquished a lion, followed by his faithful dog (4). Pictures do not do justice to the artistry of the 1,200 year-old bas-relief carving.
A trail leads further up the cliff face through an irregular series of stone steps to the top of the escarpment (5). Here an old fort guarded the approaches to the First Empire capital at Pliska and the broad, rich agricultural land north of the Balkans.
The sweeping views from the escarpment to the villages and farmland below, and across to the Shumen escarpment, explain the military significance of the site. The vistas were enhanced when the sun poked through the clouds.
I walked along the ridge top to a viewpoint facing southwest (6). I heard voices across a cleft in the cliff and a woman appeared on the cliff face opposite me. I noted a somewhat overgrown path that appeared to go the right way (and stayed away from the cliff edge) and proceeded with caution.
After a few minutes down the narrow path, I encountered a woman hiking (the only other person I had encountered on the ridge so far). I mustered my best "zdravete/hello" (7) and she raised one finger in the universal sign for "wait a minute." There was a group of four woman hiking and their leader emerged, asking in English if there were another way down besides the irregular stairs we had come up (8). She showed me a map on her phone indicating the presence of cave monasteries in the area that she was looking for. Judging by the topography, they would be close, but a hundred feet or more down the cliff face.
Their leader indicated that there was a viewpoint just past where we were chatting (the same one where I had seen her earlier). The views there invited lingering. I had a snack and enjoyed the scenery while watching swallows of some kind dining on the wing, and bees gathering pollen from small purple flowers.
Later, back down by The Rider, I saw the guide and her four friends; we exchanged mutual thumbs up. A class field trip was also there with the teachers taking action shots of the kids jumping in front of the cliff carving, which the emerging sunshine now had revealed in richer detail.
I stopped at a souvenir booth for some postcards, but the shopkeeper did not sell stamps. "Post office in Madara?" (Поща мадара?) I asked in my pidgin Bulgarian. She laughed incredulously as if to say Madara is way too small for a post office. "Varna, Shumen, Sofia" have post offices, go there (9).
Back down to the station for the afternoon local train to Varna. I always feel better when other passengers show up when I'm waiting for a train, suggesting that I had not misread the train schedule. While I waited alone, I was comforted when the road crossing gates descended at the right time, signalling an approaching train. I hopped on, opened a few windows using all of my (limited) upper body strength to budge the windows on the ancient train and enjoyed the ride back to Varna.
Overall, the hike was 4 or 5 miles long, with a 900 foot vertical rise. History, culture, nature, hiking, train rides and a quick dip in the warm waters of the Black Sea at the end; a good day.
(1) For context, the 50 Stolinki coin is currently worth about 28 US cents. The main unit of currency in Bulgaria is the Leva, divided into 100 Stolinki. There are also 1, 5, 10, and 20 Stolinki coins, all depicting the rider on the obverse.
(2) Pronounced with the stress on the first syllable: MAH-da-ra.
(3) Established in 1878 during Bulgaria's national revival period and roughly akin to Boston Public Gardens (established around the same time), although Varna's Promorski park is much larger, stretching about five miles along the sea.
(4) Looking closer at the coins, I noticed they omitted the dog from the image on the coins.
(5) While the stone steps were not slippery from the overnight rain, the air was heavily saturated with moisture, making me huff and puff more than usual in the humid air.
(6) My mild fear of heights and general clumsiness kept me a respectful distance from the cliff edge.
(7) "Zdravete" to be polite and greet people in their own language. "Hello" to indicate that I do not speak Bulgarian.
(8) Their guide was hoping for an alternative path back down (and spoke English well and with some subtlety): "I'm trying to keep the ladies alive with hope of an easier way down" (a).
(a) Ironically, if I had not heard their voices across the chasm, I probably would not have ventured this far myself.
(9) The post office in Varna is right near the train station. After making my way through the many packages on the floor waiting to be picked up, I pointed to where the stamp would go on the postcard, said "America" in my best Bulgarian accent and indicated how many cards I had. The clerk demonstrated the requisite combination of three stamps necessary for each card by pasting them to one of my postcards. Curious, I said "Engliski: 'stamp'; Bulgarski?" "Марки" (MAR-key) she replied with a smile, giving the plural form.
The morning train to Kaspichan, connecting to Madara
The Madara Rider
Climbing the escarpment
At the top
The fortress
There's an old saying:
"He who would keep a secret must keep it a secret that he hath a secret to keep."
Not so much here
View across the cleft from first viewpoint
Venturing down the overgrown path
Looking back to the first viewpoint
The village of Madara
Bee gathering pollen at second viewpoint
Flower on escarpment
Climbing down
A Martenitsa (10) on the trail
The Rider in the sun
The vanquished lion, somewhat eroded
Detail of the dog
They left the dog off the coins
At the Madara station road crossing
View back to the cliffs ftom the train station
The train arrives on time at Madara
I managed to manhandle a few windows open
Вечна Слава (Eternal glory) to the Bulgarian Communist Party.
Relic of former days in Promiski Park (11)
A refreshing dip in the Black Sea at dusk
(10) In March 1, Bulgarians greet their friends with "Честита баба марта" ("Chestita Baba Marta," Happy Grandmother March) and exchange Martenitsi (red and white yarn bracelets) which they wear until they see a flowering tree, on which they hang the Martenitsa. I presume the one on the path fell from a nearby tree.
(11) In Sofia, the former Communist monuments, statues, etc have been moved to a museum. The monument here in Varna was probably too big to move
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