![Chepino Valley, Bulgaria 08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Chepino_Valley%2C_Bulgaria_08.JPG)
The Chepino Valley (), or Chepino ( bg, Чепино, link=no), is the largest valley in the
Rhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
in southern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. It is situated along the course of the
Chepino River near the
Batak Mountains in the northwestern part of the Rhodopes. Located at around 750 m above sea level, it is between 4 and 7 km wide and 18 km long. The bottom of the Chepino Valley is comparatively flat, although hills can also be found. The valley's fault structure is the reason for the frequent earthquakes in the area, as well as for the high number of
mineral spring
Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...
s, numbering more than 80 and making the Chepino Valley an important tourist destination in the Rhodopes.
Due to its geographic location, the valley has a considerably milder climate than that in other parts of Bulgaria. The slopes that surround the valley are covered with venerable coniferous forests, mainly of
spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
. The second highest peak of the Rhodopes, Golyama Syutkya, is located nearby, and an important city in the valley is
Velingrad
Velingrad ( bg, Велинград ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative center of the homonymous Velingrad Municipality an ...
.
The valley takes its name from the medieval Bulgarian fortress of
Tsepina
Tsepina ( bg, Цепина) or Tzepaina ( el, Τζέπαινα) was a castle and town in the western Rhodope mountains, southern Bulgaria, now in ruins. It is from the Dorkovo village in the north-eastern part of the Chepino Valley. Tsepina is a ...
, the capital of the domain of Despot
Alexius Slav
Alexius Slav ( bg, Алексий Слав, el, ; 1208–28) was a Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgarian nobleman (''boyar, bolyarin''), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the govern ...
in the 13th century, which was excavated near the village of
Dorkovo
Dorkovo ( bg, Дорково; rup, Dorcova) is a village in the Rakitovo municipality, Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The population of the village is 2,955. Aromanians live in the village.
Geography
Dorkovo is situated in the western Rh ...
.
In the early 17th century, the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
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 ...
inhabitants of the valley were
Islamized
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...
by the
Ottoman authorities of the time, and thus today the population is mixed, with both Orthodox Bulgarians and
Pomaks
Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
(Muslim Bulgarians) inhabiting the valley.
Valleys of Bulgaria
Landforms of Pazardzhik Province
Rhodope Mountains
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