Babek () is a village in

Southern Bulgaria Southern Bulgaria ( bg, Южна България, ''Yuzhna Balgariya'') is the southern half of the territory of Bulgaria, located to the south of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally separates the country into a northern an ...

, in Municipality Brezovo,

Plovdiv Province Plovdiv Province ( bg, Област Пловдив: ''Oblast Plovdiv'', former name Plovdiv okrug) is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, ''obshtini'', sing. общинa, ''obshtina'') on a ter ...

. The current population count of the village is 42 people as of 2020.

Geography

Babek is located in

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora i ...

mountain range, north of Svezhen village, and east of Rozovec village. The western neighboring village of Babek is Zlatosel and the southern one is Zelenikovo. The climate and soil conditions are favourable for the cultivation of oil roses and different essential oil crops.

History and culture

During the

Balkan wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

, one person from Babek village volunteered in the

Bulgarian army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were established ...

during 1912. The majority of the population are Orthodox Christians in terms of religious beliefs. It is believed that the village has been moved a few times in a perimeter between 5 and 7 kilometers. The reason for the relocation has been stated to be attacks under the Ottoman rule over Bulgaria (1396-1878). Local legends believe that the formation of the village started due to an old woman relocating with her sons in the area. Hence the name "Babek" coming out of the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

word "Baba" which means grandmother.

Notable people

* General Banko Pironkov, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

hero * Stefan Shivachev *

Tsvetana Pironkova Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( bg, Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted ...

, a notable Bulgarian tennis player.

References

{{Reflist Villages in Plovdiv Province