Momina salza fountain in Hisarya
My dear friends, while quenching your thirst with healing mineral water from the Colonnade in Hisarya, look to the right - you will see this beautiful fountain, located in the middle of beautiful beds, from which sunny flowers will smile at you!
There are benches around the fountain for you to sit on, enjoying another relaxing sunny day.
You may be wondering what this figure of a maiden, holding a wide tray high above her head, depicts? Now I'll tell you!
There is a legend about the origin of the name of the spring "Momina salza" (means Maiden tear translated in English) and this legend is spiritualized precisely through this fountain:
The ruler of Hisarya was Hasan Bey, whom even Allah could not calculate all the injustices. He always wandered around the neighboring villages, on a thoroughbred horse, not for taxes and robberies, but to find a beauty to fill the place of the elders in his harem. Therefore the women hid from his sight when they heard of his coming. Only one girl during these years managed to hide from his evil gaze and became a wonderfully beautiful girl. Her relatives were proud of her, but a burden weighed on the hearts of the villagers - lest the accursed Hasan Bey discover her.
And the worst happened.
The Turk saw her, and the very next day he sent his gavaz to bring her to his harem. A whole village marched out to beg for mercy, many tears and much weeping accompanied her way there. But nothing could touch the hard soul of the ruler.
The heart of the young Bulgarian woman was even harder. She said goodbye to life, but decided to hold on to her faith until the end.
What did Hassan Bey do to make her fall in love with him? He made promises to her that he had never made to any other woman. He gave her clothes of tinsel and silk, at her feet stood strings of gold and silver. But... nothing helped. She continued not to notice him because her mind and soul belonged to a young man that remained in the village.
Then the Turk decided to take revenge as no one had done before. He invited noble Turks from Filibeto (the city of Plovdiv) and arranged a sumptuous dinner. When the guests had eaten and drunkenly, the host ordered the maid to be stripped naked, her body to be smeared with gül (roses) oil, so that she would come out and carry the tray of sweets.
Those who knew her in the harem and had seen her pride more than once, thought that she would not fulfill the master's will. Does she expect to throw herself from the high balcony rather than serve the sweets to the guests naked and humiliated? But the young Bulgarian woman came out with the thick copper tray on her head. Shame gave way to her great malice, for what she had planned had to be done.
She approached Hasan Bey calmly, even smiling a little. The soul of the old Turk relaxed!
"Finally!... Thank you, Allah!..."
"Finally..." he repeated and twisted his thick moustache. "She's out of her mind!"
All the Turks, standing up from their seats and dumbfounded by the indescribable beauty of the maiden's body. The Bey drifted off into his voluptuous thoughts about the coming night...
When the Bulgarian woman came to him, she lifted the heavy tray even higher and with all her might brought it down on his bare head. While the guests shouted and ranted, Hasan Bey went to Allah.
"Let her die the cruelest death!" - they decided.
One evening, an incredible spectacle took place in the fortress. Even the day before, the soldiers built a high chamber with dry wood, and in the middle of it they drove a stake. They brought the Bulgarian woman there to be burned alive. Before tying her to the beam, the Turks stripped her naked, smeared her body with tar instead of gül water, and set her on fire.
Not a cry or a groan was heard.
After a while, everyone who watched was speechless. Two clear tears fell from the maiden's eyes, and at that moment a warm spring gushed out from under her feet. She slowly sank into them.
Since then, this spring has received the name "Maiden Tear". Many years passed, but the legend of the maiden did not die down, because it was connected to the spring that did not dry up.
How do you get to Momina salza fountain?
You will find the fountain near the Roman colonnade of Hisarya, right next to Ivan Vazov Boulevard and its intersection with Gladstone Street.
The "Momina Salza" fountain was built in 1960 according to the project of Plovdiv architect Georgi Karayanev.
Pay special attention to the beautiful faience mosaic panel covering the bottom of the fountain! It is based on ancient legends and myths and is the work of the famous Bulgarian illustrator Nevena (Neva) Tuzsuzova and her daughter Ana Tuzsuzova.
The master panel is extremely valuable because there is no similar analogue in Bulgaria!
The two artists also work together on the arches of the Colonnade, which you will find nearby, with which they develop the idea of continuity of beauty through the centuries - from antiquity, through legends and so on to the present day.
I wish you wild beauty, a fabulous walk and magical emotions!