The Stob pyramids
The United States of America may have their Grand Canyon, Republic of Serbia has its "Devil" town, but in Bulgaria we are proud to have a unique nature phenomenon - The Stob pyramids! Many tourists are fascinated by the beauty and the charm of their rich forms. Most of them come back to enjoy the magnificent view over and over again. Since September 2010 the Stob pyramids are already a part of the "100 National Landmarks". Visiting the pyramids definitely worths the efforts to reach them by car or on foot.
The Stob pyramids are located near the village of Stob, in the western approaches of the Rila mountain. These are stone and earth formations, 30-40 m deep. The sediments are coloured rusty-brown, reddish and dark yellow and, because of their location, the pyramids are especially beautiful at sunset or at moonlight.
Many of the formations are crowned with rock "hats" - large stone blocks sizing 120 by 80 cm.
Under the influence of wind, rain and snow, the form of the pyramids changes, some of them vanish, the stone hats fall and new pyramids are born.
The pyramids are separated in two distinct groups, called by the people with many different names - Kulite ("The Towers"), Chukite ("The Rocky peaks"), Samodivskite komini ("The Samodivas' chimneys", the samodivas are mythical female creatures living in the forests), Neviastata ("The Bride") etc. The most famous group is called Svatovete ("The In-laws").
According to the legend, many years ago a wedding procession from the nearby village of Kolibite took a young girl from the Stob village as a bride. The custom in those days was that the bride must be chosen and bought by the relatives of the groom for him to marry her. Also the young couple must not know each other, so the girl had her face veiled.
When the wedding procession passed by the southern slope of Kulski rid, strong mountain wind blew and raised the veil ofthe bride reveiling her face. She was so beautiful, that the groom's best man tried to kiss her. Outraged by the sinful act of the best man, the in-laws turned to stone and stayed like this forever – magnificent with their stone hats... There is also a legend about the doomed love between a Bulgarian girl and a Turkish boy. They could never marry because of their different religions. Desperate, the girl threw herself off the rock and on this spot a pyramid formed which was called Neviastata ("The bride").
A mighty stone tower once existed on this site. It was told to be as high as the Rila mountain and from its top one could see as far Macedonia. The tower was of great importance to the local towns and hamlets and despite their beauty the site where the pyramids now stand was then known as Kulata ("The Tower"). But a strong earthquake cracked it and it crumbled.
In 1964 the Stob pyramids were announced a natural landmark.
Source: http://bg.wikipedia.org/
http://news.expert.bg/
