Emen
Emen is a village in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Bulgaria, famous for the nearby caves and canyon. In recent years it has become a major tourist destination, receiving both domestic and foreign visitors. Emen's population is about 100 people[1], but it triples during the summer.
[edit] History
The Emen cave bears evidence of human habitation, dated to the Neolith.[2] Later Romans settled the area and built an outpost on Kaleto hill on the verge of the present-day village. Fortifications included a rock wall from two sides, while the other two sides were naturally protected by the vertical walls of the Emen canyon. Nowadays parts of the wall are preserved, but treasure-hunter raids have reduced archaeological evidence.
The present-day name of the village is said to derive from the times of the Ottoman rule over Bulgaria. Emen was the name of the Turk who owned all the land and Christian people of the village. With the Liberation of Bulgaria he was most probably expelled from the country, but the village kept its name. Nowadays a single Turkish family is left in Emen, but it bears no relation to the previous landowner.
[edit] Geography and natural sights
Emen is located in Veliko Tarnovo Province, about 20 km away from capital of the province. The river Negovanka, a tributary to Rositsa flows right through the village, through the infamous Emen canyon and ends up in the Mihaltsi dam situated about 5 km north of the village. The name of the river comes from Latin and means short river with a near source. In Palaeolithic times the river has carved a Gorge (or canyon), which bears the name of the village. The Emen canyon consists of two parts, called Goren (Upper) and Dolen (Lower) Boaz.[3] The Upper Boaz stretches through 5 km from the nearby village of Novo Selo to Emen, itself. The Lower part of the canyon begins in the north part of Emen and eventually opens up after the Mihaltsi dam.
One of the first eco paths in Bulgaria passes through the Emen Gorge on its way to the Momin Skok Waterfall. The Emen cave is located at the very beginning of the eco path. With its length of 3,113 metres it is the 17th lengthiest cave in Bulgaria. This has made it suitable for all kinds of human activities during the years. It has consecutively been used to grow mushrooms and mature cheese. In Communist times it even became an arms depot of a military base located immediately above it. Currently, human presence in the cave is, at least officially, restricted to allow for bats to breed uninterrupted.
Speleologists from Ruse have discovered a large cave system in the vicinity of the village during expeditions between 1986 and 1991. The caves Ruse (3,306 metres long), Troana (3,234 m) and Bambalova Dupka (2,923 m) are all located in the Lower Boaz.
[edit] References
- ^ Population table of Bulgaria as of 2008
- ^ Pre-historic settlements in Bulgaria(Bulgarian)
- ^ The name derives from the Turkish word for a passage (pass).
Coordinates: 43°08′N 25°21′E / 43.133°N 25.35°E
