The Danube Elia is the most extensive Bulgarian Danube lowland, also known by the names Pobrezhie, as well as names for its individual parts – Brashlyanska, Ryakhovska\/Martenska, Sandrovska lowlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Geographically, it is part of the Eastern Danube Plain and extends along the right bank of the Danube River, from Ruse to Tutrakan for a length of 60.7 km, with its width varying from 10 to 15 km. The relief is varied, with dry valleys giving it a hilly character. To the south, the lowland gradually rises towards Ludogorie. Its area is 422 km2 and is the largest Danube lowland in Bulgaria. The old people of the local population still remember and call this territory Elia or Eliyata. Since June 29, 1942, geographers have used the name Pobrezhie for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The coast consists of: Low, floodplain part, along the bank of the Danube River with high groundwater and alluvial-meadow marsh soils. In the past, before drainage measures were carried out, large parts of it were swamped (Golyamoto blato, Kalimok, etc.). Now small areas of these marshes remain northeast of the villages of Babovo and Nova Cherna, habitats of migratory birds. and High non-floodplain part – a remnant of three floodplain river terraces, with an elevation of 10 to 55 m above the level of the Danube River. Its area is a quarter of the lowland – about 320 km2, and its width is up to 8 – 10 km and occupies the southern, higher parts of the lowland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eastern part of the lowland is crossed by the dry valley of the Tsaratsar River (Karapancha\/Chernodlanitsa, until June 29, 1942 Demir Baba, then Krapinec.) and the Topchiyska River (or Tetovska River), right tributaries of the Danube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Topchiyska River originates from a spring-fountain 1 km from the village of Lipnik, Razgrad Municipality. In the area west of the town of Kubrat, it dries up and from there continues downward as a dry valley, reaching the Danube lowland Pobrezhie near the village of Malko Vranovo, after which its valley is completely lost, replaced by numerous irrigation and drainage canals. Before their construction, the dry valley of the river reached the Danube at kilometer 458, at 14 meters above sea level, opposite the Bulgarian island of Mishka. Its length is 88.6 km, which places it 42nd among the rivers of Bulgaria. A section of the river valley marks the western border of the historical and geographical region of Ludogorie[2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dry valley of the old Demir Baba River (the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences uses the name Tsaratsar) flows into the Danube at kilometer 435, 11 meters above sea level, west of Tutrakan, opposite the Bulgarian island of Radetski, north of the village of Staro Selo. The main road Ruse – Tutrakan crosses the dry valley between the former DZS – Nova Cherna and the branch for Staro Selo. The river almost entirely flows on the territory of the historical and geographical region of Ludogorie. Its length is 108 km, which gives it 25th place among the rivers of Bulgaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the bend of the canyon of the Krapinets \/ Demir Baba river, next to a powerful karst spring, there is the Demir Baba Teke – an Alevi Teke with a t\u00fcrbe near the village of Sveshtari, Isperih municipality. Legends to this day unite the life of the Muslim Aliani, whom we call Kyzylbashi, with that of the Christians and tell of Demir Baba Pehlivan (from Turkish: Iron Father), who, according to the handwritten apocryphal book “Vilayetname”, probably lived in the middle of the 16th century. His name is associated with the spread and establishment of Alevism in Northeastern Bulgaria, brought by settlers during the time of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. According to legend, Demir Baba was a student of Kyzyl Baba and was endowed with the power of a hero. When once there was a drought, he reached into the bowels of the earth with his hand and a spring gushed out at the place. It is believed that its water has healing powers, and therefore the spring is visited on St. George’s Day, St. Ilinden Day and St. Dimitrov’s Day by people from the Kizylbashi, Muslims and Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
**<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsar Ivan Shishman with the IRON FATHER’S BROTHERS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Tsar Ivan Shishman was still in his prime and was fighting battles with the Anatolian Turks and the Black Arabs, he once passed through Ludogorie with his army. His army was all selected horsemen, with shiny swords and long spears. And in front of everyone \u2013 Tsar Ivan Shishman, on a white horse with scarlet manes. And next to him the young queen on a beautiful, scarlet mare. To adorn his army and give it courage!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They went to fight on the Shumen field, at the Shumen fortress. There the queen was badly wounded and no matter how much they treated her, she still did not recover and became worse and worse. Tsar Ivan Shishman set out to lead her to churches and monasteries, hoping to find a cure, and on the way he met all kinds of faiths – both baptized and unbaptized. He helped some and fought with others. First he visited the monastery near Manastirsko Selo, near today’s village of Sinya Voda, Razgrad region, then he came to the monastery near the village of Chernoglavtsi and to the village of Sini Vir, Shumen region, and from there he went to the monasteries of “St. Iliya” and “St. Simeon” near the village of Lomtsi and the village of Tsarkvino, Razgrad region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, he stopped at the monastery “St. Dimitar” at the springs of the Chair Dere river near the village of Voden. From there, he thought of going down to the village near the Beshparmak spring (Five Fingers). But in the forest, he met the Iron Father’s eldest brother – the Wise One Hundred-Year-Old, who was grazing his flocks and clinking his flint to catch fire for the powder of his pipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Good afternoon, old man Centenarian, is this the way to the St. George Monastery? We have set out to seek healing for the queen, who is getting worse day by day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 This is the road to the monastery of Demir Baba, my brother-in-law, but if you want to find healing, go even further down, behind the Ayazma Kasaba, there is the monastery of my other brother-in-law \u2013 Prezmoretsa Lechitel. Only he can heal the queen. He knows the power of all herbs and understands all diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd is he baptized or unbaptized?\u201d the king asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 You are looking for healing, is it important from whom you find it? \u2013 said the Wise Hundred-Year-Old. \u2013 Go in health and bless those who have done you good with words or deeds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsar Ivan Shishman led his army down the Chair Dere River and below the present-day village of Sboryanovo, where the Covenant Road is, entered the valley of the Chernodlanitsa River (Karapancha). Unable to enjoy its beauties, he ordered them to stop before one of its bends, and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 We will stop here to enjoy and rest. A village will be settled here and it will be called Ivan Shishmanovo. (Now there is really a village on the site called Ivan Shishmanovo. Its old name is Enibalabanlar, which speaks in favor of the legend. The new names of the Slavic-Bulgarian settlements in Ludogorie were not given arbitrarily and in most cases are a translation of the old name.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Now let messengers go ahead, see what this monastery behind Ayazma Kasaba is like, and bring this famous old man to heal the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They went to the Healer from the Sea (Denizli Hekim Ali the Healer with a tekke\/tomb in the village of Varnentsi, and the Christians also revered him because they believed he inhabited a monastery named after Saint Elijah) and conveyed the king’s words to him. He listened to them and told them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 I am old and decrepit with age, I lean on a staff. The king is young and strong. It is not like the strong to force the weak to do him good, because there is no good from such kindness. Let them bring the queen here, I will cure her!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The messengers returned and told what they had heard. And Tsar Ivan Shishman spoke:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Set up camp, let’s go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Healer examined the wound, chose from the herbs and ointments what he needed, applied it, and bandaged it. And while they drank some coffee and talked about this and that, the queen cheered up, laughed, and got to her feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joyful and amazed by this miracle, the king turned to the sorcerer and said to him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Ask for whatever you want! For the kindness you have done me, I am ready to give half the kingdom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 I don’t need half of it \u2013 smiled the Overseas. \u2013 I want you to give me all the power, for the time from when I throw my staff up until it falls to the ground below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 What can you say in such a short time? – laughed Tsar Ivan Shishman. – Let it be so!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He threw his staff, the Oversea Healer, up high, and as it fell to the ground, he spoke quickly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 The lands that are visible from here should be donated to the monastery of Prezmoretsa forever, and royal people should not have the right to enter!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Was that it? – The king was surprised. – Let them be, the king’s word is not valid in two! But why did you say the monastery of Prezmoretsa, and not the monastery “St. Elijah”? And why are you afraid of the king’s people?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Because after Ivan Shishman another king will come and he will not respect what Ivan Shishman respected. And because the monastery will remain, but its name and the order in it will change, just as the names and faiths of many people will change. Soon you will need heroes above heroes, Tsar Ivan Shishman! Difficult years are coming for your kingdom. The cross will fall and the crescent moon will rise. And whoever survives well, and whoever does not survive, it will be as if a flood had swept him away!\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The flood soon arrived with the troops of Murad the Terrible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsar Ivan Shishman hid his queen and treasures in unknown caves, and he himself set out from east to west to search and gather heroes above heroes, to defend the faith in the cross and the native land. He set out for Ludogorie to look for the Iron Father. Tsar Ivan Shishman rode on his horse, and after him rode the Anatolian Turks and the black Arabs. He came above the valley of the Chernodlanitsa River and shouted at the top of his voice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Where are you, Iron Father-e-e-e!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 E-e-e-! E-e-e! E-e-e! \u2013 The echo called out, vomited three times from the rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tsar Ivan Shishman was delighted that the Iron Father was answering his call and set off back so that the Turks would lose track of him. He reached the present-day village of Yonkovo, where at the springs of the Yanlascha River, Yunuz the Fool, the youngest sibling of Demir Baba, was again planting watermelons, which ripened immediately. He gave one to the tired Tsar to cool off, and the Tsar took it and passed by. After a while, the Turks arrived and asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Did Tsar Ivan Shishman pass through here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I was just sowing watermelons when I passed by,\u201d said the Fool, and cut a watermelon for the pursuers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Yunuz Abdal, there is also a village named after him, this is the old name of the village of Yonkovo)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Sit down, have a bite to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Turks fell silent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 Now the watermelons are ripe. Tsar Ivan Shishman has passed away, we won’t be able to catch up with him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They sat down, ate watermelons, and returned. Thus Tsar Ivan Shishman escaped from them, but where he went and what happened to him afterwards cannot be said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source: At the Five Fingers Spring \u2013 Legends and Traditions from Ludogorie, Boris Iliev, 1993, p. 56<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Geographically, it is part of the Eastern Danube Plain and extends along the right bank of the Danube River, from Ruse to Tutrakan, for a length of 60.7 km.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,38,39,42,36,31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2406,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions\/2406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elia-centre.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}