Restoring iconic places

Restoring the borderlands

by Dobromir Ivanov (photo) and Marina Evgenieva (text)

August 11, 2026

Image 1: Vulture School
Image 2: Vulture School
Image 3: Schoolchildren as guardians of the young birds
Image 4: Veli Veli
Image 5: The Dunya traditional folklore group
Image 6: The Dunya traditional folklore group
Image 7: Ancient volcanic ridges with mining scars
Image 8: Vulture feeding sites
Image 9: Vulture feeding sites
Image 10: Vulture feeding sites
Image 11: Gyulzade Ismail
Image 12: Veli Veli
Image 13: The Dunya traditional folklore group
Image 14: Zlatka Karaslavova
Image 15: Zlatka Karaslavova
Image 16: Petar Hristov
Image 17: Veli Veli’s cows
Image 18: The Madzharovo Museum
Image 19: Eurasian Scops Owl
Image 20: Giant Peacock Moth
Image 21: Orpheus Flower
Image 22: Vulture feeding sites
Image 23: Vulture feeding sites
Image 24: Vulture feeding sites
Image 25: Vulture feeding sites
Image 26: Vulture feeding sites
Image 27: Marin Kurtev
Image 28: Schoolchildren become guardians of the young birds
Image 29: Vulture School
Image 30: Satellite transmitters
Image 31: Vulture School
Image 32: Dr. Volen Arkumarev
Image 33: Dr. Vladimir Dobrev
Image 34: Educational part of the Vulture School
Image 35: Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria
Image 36: Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria
Image 37: Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria

Eastern Rhodopes, Bulgaria

Straddling Bulgaria’s borders with Greece and Turkey lies one of Europe’s least-known biodiversity hotspots. Once part of the Iron Curtain and today the Green Belt of Europe, the Eastern Rhodopes are a place of dramatic change and rich wildlife. At the heart of the region lies the town of Madzharovo.

Set among the remains of an ancient volcanic complex, Madzharovo developed from a network of small settlements into an industrial mining centre during the second half of the twentieth century. After mining activities ceased at the end of the century, people began to leave and the industrial rhythm gradually gave way to nature’s recovery.

Today, the Eastern Rhodopes and the Madzharovo region are among Bulgaria's most important conservation areas. For more than three decades, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB) has been working to bring back this unique landscape. Together with local partners, BSPB restores habitats, reduces threats to wildlife, and strengthens the relationship between people and nature.