The town of Aitos (population: 25 057, 100 m above sea-level) is situated on either bank of the Aitos river, in the Aitos field, in the southern foot of the Eastern Balkan mountain (Aitos mountain). It is 358 km east of Sofia, 30 km north-west of Burgas and 22 km east of Karnobat. An agricultural centre.
History: Aitos is an old settlement founded by the Thracian tribes. Northwest of the town there are the remains of three turrets belonging to the medieval fortress called Aetos (in Greek - an eagle) erected between 650 and 750. And that is where its present day name comes from. It was registered with this name by the Byzantine chronicler Nikita Honiat, and in the chronicles of the French knight Geoffrois de Lavarduen. In 1206 Aetos was destroyed by the Crusaders. In 1488 it grew again as a fortified town. Later in 17th century the traveller Evlia Chelebi registered it as Chengis, while in the Revival Period it was known as Orlovo or Orlovets. At that time it was a considerably big town with a famous fair. After the signing if the peace treaty in Odrin in 1829 many inhabitants of the towns and its vicinity moved to Bessarabia, and yet during the liberation period (1878) the town numbered 3000 inhabitants. The annual four-day long agricultural and crafts fair continued to be held. The first agricultural school for young girls in the country was opened here.
Landmarks: Museum Ethnographic Collection (in the area of the Genger Hotel , tel.: 0558 6157, 6158); Chengelievs’ House-Museum (13, Chengelievi Str., tel.: 0558 5990); Peter Stanev House-Museum (26 Peter Stanev Str., tel.: 0558 5643); St. Dimitur Church with precious frescoes (22 Tsar Osvoboditel Str., tel.: 0558 2004).
The mineral baths of Aitos are situated in the eastern part of the town. The water temperature is 16°-17°C, output rate - 30 liters per second. The mineral water is good for drinking and curing stomach, gastric and liver diseases.
Accommodation: The Aetos Hotel (1, Garova Str.) in the south-western part of the town, not far from the railway station. The Genger Hotel (60, Parkova Str.) offers a restaurant-tavern and a coffee-bar.
Tourist Information: at the hotels and at the Choudnite Skali Tourist Association (35A, Stancionna Str., tel.: 0558 2650).
Transport: There are regular bus lines to Bourgas, Karnobat, etc. The railway station is in the north-western part of the town (1, Georgi Kondolov Str., tel.: 0558 2030, 2137). The railway station (in the south-western industrial zone, tel.: 0558 2111, 2113) is on the main line Sofia-Burgas (via Plovdiv and Karlovo).
