Bulgaria: ARIT Tour Day 4, Ardino, Kardzhali and Svilengrad

 

All packed up, we began our homeward journey, back to Istanbul. Our route took us through Ardino. There, we were amused to see the above sign on the door of the cafe, where we stopped for a mid-morning break. ...and then we looked nervously around at the other diners. There had to be a reason for that notice!

We then travelled on to Kardzhali, which has the distinction of having the greatest number of ethnic Turks in Bulgaria,

We were hoping to visit the History Museum of Kardzhali, 

but unfortunately it is closed on a Monday!

The Mustafa Pasha Bridge in Svilengrad was our next stop. Dating from the 16th century, this was built by Mimar Sinan, the Ottoman architect, on the orders of Çoban Mustafa Pasha, when the area was part of the Ottoman Empire.. The bridge is 295 metres long, with 20 arches.

The Mustafa Pasha Bridge

 

This says "This bridge was built during Sultan Suleiman Han's time 

by his vizir Mustapha Pacha in 1529"

Here is the original inscription, written in Arabic

Here, you can see the detail of the brick, and just how sturdily built it was. Strong enough to last nearly 450 years, so far. (Although some of the arches were destroyed in a flood in 1766, and reconstructed in 1809)

And that was the end of out tour. We hastened back through the border at Edirne, and said our final goodbyes. We had a great time, with memories - and photographs - of our happy time together. Thank you everyone for making this such an enjoyable trip!