Ancient sanctuary and observatory
Formed as a result of the millennial game of the wind and visibly completed by skilled human hands, the natural ensemble of stone blocks "Beglik Tash" is among the largest and most impressive ancient megalithic sanctuaries in Bulgaria.
How to get here?
Near the ruins of the ancient city of Ranuli, on the ridge of Cape Beglik Tash, is the sanctuary of the city - a circle of massive stones perched on a rocky surface, rising as if in the middle of nowhere at one end of a wide green meadow.
The ancients deified the area, brought gifts here and turned it into a kind of temple.
There is information that the sanctuary performed the following main functions:
Tample
The altar carved into the rock, consisting of two stone baths with connecting gutters, the main altar (a huge stone stepped on three fulcrums) and the stone throne on which the ruler - the high priest sat - are perfectly preserved.
Calendar
Carved holes can still be traced on the rock surface, as in the days of the winter and summer solstice and the spring and autumn equinoxes the sun's rays pass between the arranged stones, illuminating exactly these points.
Clock
The arrangement of the stones is such that the sun's shadow, falling from the main altar (a huge specifically curved stone) on the six smaller stones arranged to the north of it, serves as a sundial, dividing the day into six equal parts.
According to the archeological finds discovered so far, it is believed that the sanctuary was built 14 centuries before Christ and functioned until the fifth century AD.
Legend has it that Odysseus passed through here to consult prophets and offer gifts to the gods before embarking on his mythical journey.
I wish you a pleasant virtual walk!