Residents and mayors from the villages of Mogilitsa and Smilyan in Smolyan Municipality (South Bulgaria) met with Anastasios Kayaoglou, Mayor of the neighbouring Greek Municipality of Paranesti, on Thursday in the Greek village of Nikoforos.
The Bulgarians reached the Greek village on foot, crossing the border along nearly 30 km of dirt road. For this reason, they discussed the possibility of building a tourist road in the Rhodope mountains, connecting the Bulgarian village of Gorna Arda with Paranesti in Greece.
People in the villages of the upper reaches of the Arda river sense the possibility to fulfill a long-standing dream of a more direct route to their Greek neighbours, said Slav Bashov, chair of the Mogilitsa Border Region Association. He pointed out that after Bulgaria’s Schengen accession, there is now a chance to restore the traditional ties between the Bulgarian and Greek villages in the region.
The benefits of this project would be mutual, because tourism will develop in both countries, emphasised Smilyan village Mayor Chavdar Chervenkov, who promised to assist in building the road from the Bulgarian side if the Greek partners build 10 kilometres of road south of the border. He invited the Greek municipal officials to be guests at the traditional Smilyan Bean Festival in October.
The idea to build a road for tourists was met with approval by the representatives of Nikoforos Municipality, with Kayaoglou expressing interest and desire to build the road from the Greek side. He stressed that the route from the border to Paranesti was laid by his father, who was the mayor of the Municipality for 30 years. Kayaoglou said that he is committed to holding talks about the construction of the road with the regional representatives of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
The Paranesti Municipality extended an invitation to the Bulgarians for the annual potato festival in Lekani, while Smilyan community centre chair Iliya Godev presented the Greek hosts with beans from the Bulgarian village, which it is famous for.
Another round of talks on the subject were scheduled for March, this time on Bulgarian territory. Representatives of Smolyan Municipality are expected to participate as well, in order to discuss the specific possibilities for building a tourist road.
The traditional livelihood of the people of Smilyan has been the cultivation and processing of beans, with the first recorded harvests dating back more than 250 years. During the Smilyan Bean Festival, several contests are held to determine the best bean dish, the best bean tannery and the best bean producer. In addition to competitions, there are many tastings, exhibitions, competitions and a musical programme with songs and dances.
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