Just like Plovdiv and quite a few other Bulgarian towns, Karlovo has its Old Town. The narrow cobble-stone alleys lead up to beautiful houses built out of wood and stone in the style, typical of the Bulgarian National Revival period. Five of these monuments of culture, emblematic of the town itself, have been restored and now form the Ancient Karlovo tourist complex. Karlovo municipality used European funding to restore them, turning five dilapidated buildings into a veritable tourist attraction.

In the 17th-19th century Karlovo was a boomtown with thriving commerce. That is the reason why the Buhalov Inn in the town is a structure on such a grand scale. The first owner of the Inn, once used by travelling tradesmen, was Kirko Buhalov, hence the name of the inn itself. In our day the building has been adapted as an artisan workshop and a venue for demonstrations and reenactments of old-time traditions. What other attractions do the Buhalov Inn, the Patev House and the other elements of the Revival-time complex hold for tourists?

The answer from ethnologist and animator Atanaska Zelyanova.

“Here, at the artisan workshops visitors can marvel at the skills of the craftsmen. Demonstrations are organized at the Inn of weaving, felt-making, woodcarving, wood figurines, embroidery, knitting. What tourists seem to be interested most is how the famed Kalofer lace is made. And they can watch as the artisan makes it and even join in. There are quite a few school-goers who come here to learn the trade. Woodcarving and weaving are the two crafts they are interested in most. They too marvel at the Kalofer lace but it is more difficult to make and so the process is harder to master. Our aim is to preserve each craft and pass it down from generation to generation so it may not be lost, forgotten and replaced by factory manufactured goods. Crafts are important because they are our bond with our ancestors.”

Each one of the artisans in Karlovo readily passes his trade to the younger generation. The crowds here are biggest on or just before major holidays because people come here to make gifts, the kind of gifts children love to give their parents. Flowers and herbs are also an essential part of the reenactment of life of olden times at the Ancient Karlovo complex. All of the restored houses have gardens in which different herbs are grown; geranium – the typical Bulgarian house plant – blossoms on the window sills. More from Atanaska Zelyanova:

“The Patev House is the home of herbs and essential oils, so it also goes by the name of House of Wood-nymphs. It is the place where the Karlovo oil-yielding rose reigns supreme. Here, visitors can see the herbs that grow in these parts and learn all about their curative properties. The house animator provides information about the traditions of rose growing and the application of essential oils in cosmetics. Some of the herbs presented in the House of Wood-nymphs grow in the gardens of the other houses as well – sage, lavender, rosemary, crane’s bill. There is a mini-distillery inside the house, an exact replica of the town’s rose distilleries of long ago. There, visitors can see the oil-extraction technology in action; depending on the season the blossoms used in the process may be rose, lavender or crane’s bill. This is one of the reasons we grow different kinds of aromatic herbs right here, on the spot. Tourists can try rose or lavender tea, the fragrance that has always been associated with any house in Karlovo, or the herb rakia (brandy) made out of tutsan or marjoram. But, without any doubt, it is the rose rakia that people invariably ask for. We also offer a variety of beauty products, all of them made using oil-yielding roses.”

Another one of the many attractions of the Buhalov Inn is the coffee, made as it used to be made so long ago – coffee on sand. The coffee is boiled in a copper pot on hot sand so it can warm up from all sides and that gives it its unique flavor. By a tradition, in Karlovo coffee goes with white jam or jam made out of rose petals or figs.

English version: Milena Daynova