The Stone Wedding near Kardzhali
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This is a natural phenomenon near the village of Zimzelen, 5km away from
Kardzhali. It is popular with tourists because of its beauty and
majesty. Nature has left a very impressive stone formation which resembles
a gathering of people, animals and birds. And just because it is an ancient Bulgarian place, there is an interesting legend told in connection with this place:
A handsome young man fell in love with a charming lass from the near-by
village. But - because she always wore a
headcloth - he had seen only her captivating eyes; he had never seen her face because of local custom. He loved her very
much and became ill from the pain.
His father was worried and went to the lass's
family to save his son's life. He bought her, according to the custom in those ancient days, for a
lot of gold. A cheerful wedding began. The wedding guests took the lass and
set off for Zimzelen. Riding a mule, the bride, dressed in her fine new gown, was thinking
about her native home but was happy to marry the young man. The
father-in-law walked next to her with his son (the happy bridegroom) and all the
wedding guests from the two villages.
As they passed through the clear stream, a sudden gust of wind blew
away the bride's headcloth. The father-in-law saw and was awe-struck at the beautiful
face of the young lass. But that lasted just for a moment. He came 'round and
evil thoughts entered his mind. The wind understood him and got furious. A
storm began and then the worst thing happened -- the bride turned into
stone, as she was all dolled up, on her mule. After her, the father-in-law
and the wedding guests were turned into stone too. The young man could only stand in
the terror and agony of the moment, but soon he began to wail and begged the storm to turn him into
stone too. So it happened. He turned into stone but even today, there's a puddle shining in
front of him. The village old people say the drops in this glimmering puddle are his
tears.
