Ancient City of Nessebar and Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Ancient City of Nessebar

   Nessebar sits on a small rocky peninsula that sticks out into the Black Sea, joined to the mainland by a narrow causeway, and the whole of the old town is an open-air museum. Greek colonists from Megara founded it in the sixth century BC, calling it Mesembria, and it passed through Thracian, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman hands. Its position, with a good harbour and a defensible rock, made it a valued port for two and a half thousand years. UNESCO listed the old town in 1983.

   Read the complete Ancient City of Nessebar write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Ancient City of Nessebar is where the day begins. Next is Madara Rider.

2. 2. Madara Rider

   Above the village of Madara, on a vertical cliff about a hundred metres up, a horseman is carved into the rock, thrusting a spear at a lion that lies under his horse, while a dog runs behind. The Madara Rider is the only relief of its kind in Europe, made in the early eighth century by the first Bulgarian state, probably to celebrate a victory by Khan Tervel, and it is a rare relic of the pre-Christian era of the country. UNESCO listed it in 1979. Beside it are Greek inscriptions recording the deeds of Bulgarian khans, among the oldest written documents in the country.

   Read the complete Madara Rider write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Madara Rider comes up about 174 km into the recorded legs. Next is Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari.

3. 3. Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

   In a quiet corner of the Ludogorie, the wooded plateau of north-eastern Bulgaria, a grassy mound hides one of the most remarkable tombs in the Balkans. Sveshtari is a Thracian tomb of the Getae, a tribe that lived on both sides of the lower Danube, and it dates from the third century BC. Over the burial chamber, the builders raised a mound, and inside they built a stone vestibule, a corridor and three chambers, decorated with carved and painted figures, the likes of which are not found anywhere else in the Thracian world. UNESCO listed it in 1985.

   Read the complete Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 259 km into the recorded legs you reach Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari. Next is back through Madara Rider.

4. 4. back through Madara Rider

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Madara Rider write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Madara Rider, late in the day. Next is Ancient City of Nessebar.

5. 5. Ancient City of Nessebar

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Ancient City of Nessebar write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Ancient City of Nessebar. That is the ride.