Sightseeing: Trayanovi Vrata
Trayanovi Vrata is a historical place at the saddle between the Mt. Eledzhik and Mt. Golak of Sredna Gora. There, close to the Thracian settlement, was constructed a Roman road station, called Sineum. From it the Trayan Pass begins, also called Souki narrow valley. Trayanovi Vrata (Trayan’s Gates) was 15 steps wide and 24 steps high. In these area in 986 Samuil’s soldiers won an important victory over the Byzantines, led by Emperor Vasilii II, delaying by this the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine domination with 22 years. A small memorial plate commemorates this event.
During the Turkish occupation the functions of Trayanovi Vrata as a keeper of the pass declined. Unused and unkept, it started to ruin. To the south of the great gate remains of old buildings are still preserved, probably parts of a fortress with a diametre of 30 metres and thickness of the wall 2 metres. Greatest interest arises Markova Mehana (Kaleto) where a large building has been discovered - a garrison with a spacious inner yard, open ground floor, 6 entrances and three inner turrets made of stone and 5 layers of flat bricks. The fortress (there are preserved parts of it 2-5 metres high) had unique water equipment and an underground passage. Archaeologists definitely prove the usage of this location during the Middle Ages (9th-10th century), which made it an important Bulgarian stronghold. Since antiquity, this old pass has continued to serve the people. The new Trakiya motorway passes under it. The distance between the eastern entrance of the two parallel tunnels to Trayanovi Vrata and the fortress is 500-600 metres. This historic location can be reached fastest along the motorway (from Sofia - 64 km and from Plovdiv - 72 km). The road from Kostenets or from Ihtiman to Mirovo station is convenient, and from there to the pass it takes 1.20 hours along a marked route.
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Bulgaria Regions: Sofia District
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