Beglik Tash represents a natural phenomenon of huge megaliths that were later carved by a Thracian tribe and were used as a place for pagan ceremonies. It is situated close to the southern seaside town of Primorsko. It is a bit hard to reach as signs are nowhere to be found, save for one at the entrance of Primorsko, if one drives into the town from the main seaside road from Bourgas to the Bulgarian-Greek border. Nevertheless, it is worth making the effort to find it as in our view, the place is comparable in historic value and beauty to the biggest Thracian sanctuary in Bulgarian lands, Perperikon (close to the town of Kurdzhali).
Beglik Tash can be reached by taking the road to the Perla Residence right after entering the town of Primorsko. Then, before reaching the Perla Residence, one has to take a left-hand asphalt road that enters the Ropotamo reserve and after 3-4km leads to an improvised parking place with a signed wooden gate, some 500 meters away from Beglik Tash. From there, one has to walk the rest of the distance on food down a dirty road, unless he/she drives an off-road vehicle.
Beglik Tash is the name of a wider surrounding area and a natural rock formation of huge monolithic blocks crowded at the end of a spacious clearing in the forest. The stone blocks are of volcano origin, and were formed of hardened magma that erupted from the nearby peak of Kitka. The latter currently is just 215m high but used to be an acting volcano during the Mesozoic era. Later on, a Thracian tribe named “esti” used the place for cult ceremonies in worship of the Sun.
Currently, the stone formation represents an open-air museum, maintained by the Bourgas historical museum and during the summer season (until 6pm), visitors can pay a small fee for a guide who will tell them more about the ceremonies carried out there. One learns from the guide that most of the megaliths have traces of carving for the purposes of Thracian rituals. At the entrance, for instance, one can see a large flat stone with the shape of a comfortable double bed where according to archeologists a ritual copulation of the tribe’s female and male shamans took place. Another place, resembling a womb, shows where Thracians observed how sunlight went through the tiny hole, symbolizing the union between Father Sun and Mother Nature. There was also a labyrinth of several stones, which represented one of the challenges in a quest for a chosen one of the tribe that had to be passed in order for this man to be proclaimed a half-God, called Heros. Visitors are invited to pass through the remains of the labyrinth, which in fact represent a very narrow path through high-rising stones, in order to clean themselves of sin. Another challenge, a part of the Heros ritual, was the entrance of the future Heros into a small cave and his entry from the other end, symbolizing his religious birth as the child of the Sun and Mother Nature. Finally, one can also see also can Thracian sun clock on one of the stones.
