Devil's Bridge in the Rhodopes is a charming place not only for tourists but also for photographers like me.
In early May 2016, with a group of friends we decided to visit the Rhodope Mountains for a few days and especially one of the greatest photographic landmarks in Bulgaria the Devil's Bridge.
The bridge is reached by a narrow asphalt road from the town of Ardino. Asphalt road ends about a kilometer before the bridge itself, reachable by a dirt rocky road. When I arrived at Devil's Bridge, there were a lot of people to my regret, which would interfere my shooting, but will cut them later. The pool beneath the bridge was still pretty deep, so the mirror image of the bridge got pretty good photo opportunities.
As much as I've seen pictures before, as I had prepared what to see, standing for the first time in front of the bridge felt great admiration for this work of antiquity. This magnificent view is one of the most interesting not only in the Rhodope Mountains, but also in all Bulgaria.
The bridge was built in the early 16th century, presumably between 1515 and 1518, with the order of Sultan Selim I as part of the road connecting the Upper Valley of Thrace and the Aegean Sea. At its present location was ever a Roman bridge, part of the important ancient road "Via Ignacia" connecting the Aegean and Thrace in Makaza Pass.
The bridge is situated 420 meters above sea level, surrounded on both sides by steep slopes reaching up to 800 meters altitude. Its length is 56 meters, width - 3.5 m., with cobblestone road above. Low handrails on both sides have been preserved from the old Roman bridge. There peaked structure, sloping to both sides of the river with three arches and 4 small holes between them. The central vault where is the "Seal of Solomon" is the highest - almost 12 meters.
Back in medieval times, the bridge was known as "Shaitan kyupriya" (translated from Turkish - Devil's Bridge). Contractor of the task is accepted by artisan Dimitar from the neighboring Nedelino village. He used the remains of the Roman bridge in new construction deployments only stones from the area. Even more strange is the fact that the central vault of Devil's Bridge was opened engraved hexagon that today was named "Seal of Solomon".
In 1984, The Devil's Bridge was decreed as a monument of culture.
There are some legends in which some believes that one of the stones seems footprint of the Devil and the place brings misfortune and death to anyone who dares to approach. According to other, The Devil rescued a Bulgarian girl from certain death's appearance on Turkish horsemen who pursued her to take her captive. The girl wanted to end his life, throwing himself off the bridge, but when she got there, the Turks suddenly turned their move, believing that saw head with horns in the water.
Another legend tells that many years, locals tried to raise the bridge between the two sides, but each time the mighty river waters destroyed what they built. And when the builders decided to quit assuming that the place is cursed, the task was undertook by a young master who intended to sacrifice his beloved (by embedding the shadows) to build the bridge.
Suddenly appeared the Devil, who revealed to master the secret of sustainable construction, but he set conditions. To build bridge strong and eternal, to be an effigy of Satan, which is both visible and invisible, can touch and still had not materialized. However, within 40 days. Otherwise, the Devil would take the souls of the master and his bride. To the astonishment of all, artisan fulfilled all conditions. But soon he dead and his secret remained unsolved.
However, the biggest mystery of the structure remains the image of the Devil. The secret which heme is visible, yet not that heme can touch and is not really materialized, is the rock in the water just below the central dome. It was carved in half and the other half is the reflection in the water. At the same time it is above the arch of the bridge, which is also reflected in the water, forming a circle. Everything is like a perfect mirror.
The image of the Devil is seen only at the time of the day (average interval between 11:00 and 12:00) when the position and power of the sun are such that bridge and its reflection in water surface.
After an hour spent in the area of Devil's Bridge and a few dozen photos and videos, finally we decided to go to next photographic spot - the turn of Kardzhali dam - the notorious photographic turn.
At the end of that same month of May, fate offered me the opportunity to visit the Devil’s bridge again, this time alone. There were no people around, but the water was too low and so the image of the bridge did not appear like last time. However, the weather was sunny unlike my first visit.
