Provadia

Provadia is a sleepy industrial town in the Varna province about 50 minutes bus or train ride from the sea. Squeezed in the narrow canyon between two plateaus it has been inhabited for 25 centuries, and the nearby salt mine is the oldest of its kind in Europe, dating back to 4700 BC. Provadia’s main attraction is the Ovech fortress founded by the Romans and greatly expanded by the Second Bulgarian Empire (XII–XIV centuries) on the high rock right above the city. Steep cliffs of the plateaus in the region gave home to many cave monasteries, man–made caves carved in stone of the seemingly inaccessible cliff walls. One of them, Shashkanite, is overlooking the city and now easily accessible by a little bit flimsy looking metal bridge.

Provadia city center as seen from the fortress

Annunciation of Our Lady church in Provadia — Annunciation of Our Lady church in the center of Provadia

Spiral stairs to the Western gate of the Ovech fortress

Eastern entrance to the Ovech fortress from the side of the Dobrina village

Tourists on the wooden bridge connecting Tabiite plateau to the remains of the main gate of the Ovech fortress

A marathon runner on top of the Tabiite plateau

A small tunnel under the Shashkanite cave monastery

A rather flimsy steel bridge to the cave monastery Shashkanite