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The town of Asenovgrad in the northern foot of the western Rhodope mountain,
169 km southeast of Sofia and 19 km south of Plovdiv. The town has an
extremely interesting history due to its favourable geographic location - an
attractive combination of mountain and valley, mild climate and
fertile soil, and the location at the entrance of the most convenient
passage through the Rhodope mountains connecting Thrace with the Aegean
region. It was the Thracians who first fortified a crag overlooking the
entrance to the Chepelarska gorge south of the town and later the Bulgarians
enlarged the fortress, the remains of which can be found higher uphill the
gorge. Places of interest are the 13th century church of St Bogoroditsa, the
Winery and Vineyard Museum, the nearby Bachkovo monastery, and the Thracian
rock of Belintash.
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