Touring the Valley of the Roses

You may have though that the Rose Festival would have provided enough Rose related festivities for one season but you couldn’t be more wrong. Shortly after the festival was complete, I went with two other volunteers on a tour of the Rose Valley that was hosted by JICA. The tour was all free because JICA was testing it out on us foreigners! It was GREAT! Over the course of the two day tour we saw a Koukeri puppet show, visited two of the Thracian tombs, saw Thracian treasures at the local museum, went rose picking, did some folk dancing and partook of rose jam and liquor. We also got to stay over with Bulgarian families that are part of the Rural Tourism Association, which is developing mini-bed-and-breakfasts in the villages around Kazanlak.

The Koukeri Puppet Show:

One of the Thracian Tombs:




The Ethnographic House (where we learned about various extracts and had some rose jam and liquor; the second photo is a Rose Distiller):

Thracian Treasures:

Japanese Doll Display (was setup by one of the JICA volunteers at the local museum):




My Rural Tourism Experience (Below is a picture of the family I stayed with and some of their rabbits. I had lots of fun playing with the rabbits that they raise but was sad to discover that they were on the menu. The people were very nice and, I am sad to say, the rabbit was very good—poor bunnies):




Our Visit to the Rose Fields:


Me and 2 volunteers from Alaska (Jack and Rhonda) on our way to the fields