Combine both sites with a pre-booked winery visit and keep a sober driver.
Stays 
Klearchos Kapoutsis from Paleo Faliro, Greece · CC BY 2.0Places · Mezek
Mezek fortress & tomb
Крепостта и гробницата при Мезек
A remarkably intact medieval fortress and a Thracian tomb stand amid Sakar vineyards near the border.
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Visiting advice
Photos & short video
Bulgarian food
Local food →Local food
Sakar wine · sesame tahini · Thracian dishes · fig jam
Марина1972 · CC BY-SA 3.0Clay-pot stew
Gyuvech
A slow clay-pot bake in which meat, seasonal vegetables and rice exchange flavours for hours.
What's in it Pork, lamb or beef, peppers, aubergine, okra, tomato, potato or rice, depending on season.
Mpb eu / Wikimedia Commons · public domainCheese bread · breakfast
Tutmanik
A soft, pull-apart yeast bread layered or rolled with white brined cheese and butter.
What's in it Flour, yeast, milk or yogurt, eggs, butter and sirene cheese.
Viktorija N. Ivanov / Wikimedia CommonsSalad · vegetarian
Shopska salad
The classic first order: tomatoes, cucumber and peppers under a generous snowy layer of white brined cheese.
What's in it Tomatoes, cucumber, roasted or fresh pepper, onion, parsley and sirene cheese.
Biso / Wikimedia CommonsBreakfast · pastry
Banitsa
Crisp filo layers wrapped around eggs, yogurt and white cheese—a warm Bulgarian breakfast staple.
What's in it Filo pastry, eggs, yogurt, sirene cheese and butter or oil.
Sumit Surai / Wikimedia CommonsCold soup · vegetarian
Tarator
A cooling yogurt and cucumber soup served cold—simple, fresh and especially popular in summer.
What's in it Yogurt, cucumber, garlic, dill, walnuts, water and a little oil.
Jeroen Kransen / Wikimedia CommonsSlow-cooked main
Kavarma
Rich meat and vegetables slowly cooked with paprika and savory, often arriving sizzling in a clay pot.
What's in it Pork or chicken, onion, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and spices.NEARBY
Public transport
Мезек
© OpenStreetMap contributors · Open Database License · availability depends on local mapping
Map
Directions
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Directions
Buses and trains
Reach Svilengrad by train/bus, then take a taxi; village services are infrequent.
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Nearby places
Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia · Public domainHaskovoHaskovo Virgin Mary monument
Монумент Света Богородица в Хасково
A hilltop monument and bell tower overlook a city of parks, museums and southern Bulgarian rhythms.
Read the guide
Anton Lefterov · CC BY-SA 4.0AleksandrovoAleksandrovo Tomb
Александровска гробница
A museum and replica reveal vivid Thracian hunting and banquet frescoes from a nearby sealed tomb.
Read the guide
Evgeni Dinev from Burgas, Bulgaria · CC BY 2.0MadzharovoMadzharovo & Arda vultures
Маджарово и лешоядите над Арда
An extinct volcanic caldera channels the Arda beneath cliffs inhabited by vultures.
Read the guide