Rhodope legends say that in these places there were four great sanctuaries: Kronos, Jupiter, Uranos and Dionysus. It is not known if they were connected or in one place. It can certainly be said that the sanctuary of Dionysus is related to the rage. Moreover, it is guarded and serviced by hang. The area where the Bessi lived may suggest that the sanctuary was in some way connected with the capital Besapara. And indeed from Gorna Besapara (Batkunion) there is a direct road through the Karkaria ridge, which leads to the areas of Peshino Bardo, Mantaritsa and Syutka peak. The area is located on the Karkaria hill The golden porticos. This was probably the door through which one entered the sacred land.
Old Roman (Thracian) road
passes by today's Batak Dam and enters today's Mantaritsa reserve. Along it there are towers (fortresses) and smaller sanctuaries: the sanctuary in the Ushite area or Mel peak; the sanctuary of Hera (the mother goddess), later became a Celtic settlement above today's city Kostandovo; the sanctuary in the Peshino Bardo area, known today as a Thracian fortress from the 5th century BC. Today the name Mantaritsa is only one area, located about 2-3 hours drive from Syutka peak, but in the past probably the whole area was "Sacred land", "land of prophets". This area includes the settlement, where ordinary people (Bessi) probably lived, helping to guard and maintain the sanctuaries - Gradot Tower; Drontovitsa (Drantovitsa) - the place where the Dionysian celebrations were held; the Removo region with the caves, from which the besis dug gold to make the golden vessels for the sanctuaries and the rites; the necropolis, where particularly important burials were performed in the area of Dzhurkovitsa near the area of Removo, located opposite the Izvora cave, which after 1960 was named Lepenica.
Rhodope legends whisper that probably
the central sanctuary is in the area Kabata, about a kilometer below Syutka peak. This is a sacred place for all the locals. From him and from the area Mantarica is the water of Rakitovo. In this area - Kabata - is perhaps the highest spring in The Rhodopes - at an altitude of about 2000 m. People from Rakitovo call it Momin Kladenets because the water springs from a crack in a rock. Its flow rate does not change and the water is clear as a tear. The magic of this place is amazing and completely covers the notions of the Thracians, who met the sunrise, worshiped the rocks, fire and springs.
In clear weather they can be seen from Syutka peak Rila and Pirin, Smolyan Karlak and Perelik, Stara Planina and Srednogorieto, equal to Thrace, and some say that the White (Thracian) Sea can also be seen.After climbing the peak, the smaller sanctuaries that surround them are at your fingertips: Babek, the sanctuary of Hera above Kostandovo, the sanctuary of Mount Mel, Batashki Karlak (White Rock), the ancient city of Geneva, the sanctuaries in the area of Dospat (Lyubcha).
Comprehensive and in-depth studies
in this area have not yet been made. Too little that is known only awakens curiosity, imagination, search and solving many questions. When did a settlement with a Latin name appear in this sacred region? Genevouris (sources of life)? Perhaps when the land of the sanctuary was called Mantaritsa? What does the name Babek mean? It is so reminiscent of the name of the eastern god Baal (Baal), which according to researchers corresponds to Jupiter? Do Muslims today worship the sacred black stone Kaaba, as the Thracians sent a daily salutation to Dionysus in the area? Kabata? Translated from Hebrew (Hebrew), the word "kaaba" means "The heavenly room of the god".
If accepted, the sanctuary Alcoholic stone above Kostandovo, where votive tablets of Hera were found, is associated with the supreme deities of the Greeks (Hera and Gaia - the mother goddess), it is true that in a small area there are several different sanctuaries. Only future research can show whether this is the site of the four sanctuaries: Jupiter, Cronus, Uranos and Dionysus, and the most important for the Thracians was that of Dionysus.
