"Madara" National Historical-Archeological Reserve

 interesting place, UNESCO World Heritage Site, 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria

The name of Madara, or Matora, was mentioned in 1444 in reference to the Battle of Varna City of the Polish king Władysław III Warneńczyk.
Later on, in 1490, Madara was mentioned in the Turkish register of the Silistra Region.
According to Byzantine historical sources, the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon found refuge in the Madara fortress when fighting with the Magyars.
Different theories exist about the origin of the name. Some say it comes from the name of the Roman military Modar, who attacked and defeated the Barbarians from the North.
Others claim "Madara" originates from the name of the fortress Mundraga.
Another theory is that it comes from the old Greek word for "bald, naked, without any trees on it" (referring to the plateau).
The historical importance of the place is considerable. Up on the steep cliffs an anonymous artist has carved a big relief of a rider and added a few inscriptions around it.
At the foot of the same cliff, winds the path to the Big Cave.
Circa 1872, the famous Hungarian traveler and artist Felix Kanitz first gave evidence of the Madara Rider by making a sketch of it. Because he observed it from a distance with a pair of binoculars, he couldn’t read the inscription properly. This led him to believe the words were Latin and the relief – a Roman work of art.
In 1884 Konstantin Jireček established that the inscription is in Greek and suggested it is from pagan Bulgarian times. He, too, supported the idea that the relief was Roman.
In 1885 the Škorpil brothers started their own research together with the Vienna Academy of Science. A tall scaffolding was constructed and a more exact sketch was made of the relief. In 1905 a cast of plaster-of-Paris was made of the relief and the inscriptions. (The cast is kept in the Archeological Museum in Sofia). A theory was formed that the horseman is khan Krum and the wording is about khan Krum and khan Omurtag.
In 1924, the Hungarian archeologist Géza Fehér did his own research over the relief and the inscriptions and announced that the relief was a homage to Khan Krum by the order of Khan Omurtag. This is the most popular supposition.
The latest research shows the relief is of Khan Tervel in a triumphant pose.

The monument was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 under number 43:
www.worldheritagesite.org/list/Madara+Rider
whc.unesco.org/en/list/43

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www.pinterest.it/pin/34340015888268020/
bulgariatravel.org/the-madara-national-historical-arche...
gowhere.bg/en/places/cultural-heritage/the-madara-horse...
bnr.bg/en/post/100152272/the-madara-horseman
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www.bg-guide.org/en/show-places/view/madara-national-hi...
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