The town where we study astronomy is Haskovo. The region of
Haskovo is situated in the south-eastern part of Bulgaria on a territory of 5
541 sq.km. It includes the valley of the Maritza River, the Haskovo hills and
parts of the Upper Thracian lowlands, Sakar Mountain and the Eastern Rhodopes.
From the 14th to the
19th century, the region was included in the Ottoman Empire and many Islamic
mosques have been preserved from these times.
The city of Haskovo
was founded 1000 years ago; however, there is evidence of a settlement here
from the Neolithic period 7,000 years ago.
In Haskovo's old town,
Rennaissance period architecture exists from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Spectacular stone
churches, The Church of Virgin Mary (1837) and the Archangel Michael and
Gabriel Church (1861), are reminders of the spirituality from the Renaissance.
They are basilicas with three naves, decorated with exquisite wall paintings
and wooden carvings and icons. Prominent in the city center is the oldest
mosque in the Balkans, "Eski Dzhamia" that was built in 1395, the
interior of the which has been beautifully reconstructed.
