Smolyan in the context of "Golyam Perelik"

Northern Thrace or North Thrace (Bulgarian: Северна Тракия, Severna Trakiya; Turkish: Kuzey Trakya; Greek: Βόρεια Θράκη), also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in Southern Bulgaria and includes the territory south of the Balkan Mountains and east of the Mesta River, bordering Western Thrace and East Thrace in the south, and the Black Sea in the east. It encompasses Sredna Gora, the Upper Thracian Plain, and 90% of the Rhodopes.

The climate ranges from subtropical to transitional continental and mountainous. The highest temperature recorded in Bulgaria occurred here: it was 45.2 °C (113.4 °F; 318.3 K) at Sadovo in 1916. The main rivers of the region are the Maritsa and its tributaries. Notable cities include Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Haskovo, Yambol, Pazardzhik, Asenovgrad, Kardzhali, Dimitrovgrad, Kazanlak and Smolyan. Northern Thrace has an area of 42,073 km.

41°40′N 24°35′E / 41.667°N 24.583°E / 41.667; 24.583

Smolyan Province (Bulgarian: Област Смолян, Oblast Smolyan; former name Smolyan okrug) is a province in Southern-central Bulgaria, located in the Rhodope Mountains, neighbouring Greece to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the city of Smolyan. The province embraces a territory of 3,192.8 km (1,232.7 sq mi). that is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population of 124,795, as of December 2009.

The Arda (Bulgarian: Арда [ˈardɐ], Greek: Άρδας [ˈarðas], Turkish: Arda [ˈaɾda]) is a 290-kilometre-long (180 mi) river in Bulgaria and Greece. It is a tributary of the Maritsa (or Evros). Its source lies in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains near the village Arda, part of the municipality of Smolyan. It flows eastward past Rudozem, Kardzhali and Ivaylovgrad and enters Greece in the northern part of the Evros regional unit. It flows into the Maritsa on the border of Greece and Turkey, between the Greek village Kastanies and the Turkish city Edirne. In the Bulgarian section, there are three hydroelectric and irrigation dams, Kardzhali Dam, Studen Kladenets and Ivaylovgrad Dam. The Bulgarian section is 229 kilometres (142 mi) long, making the Arda the longest river in the Rhodopes. The medieval Dyavolski most arch bridge crosses the river 10 kilometres (6 mi) from Ardino.

The three floods of February 18, 2005, when the water level was at 4.8 metres (16 ft), March 1 and March 7, 2005, flooded the low-lying areas, especially the Kastanies area which turned into a lagoon. The merging of the waters of the Maritsa (Evros/Meriç) caused streets and buildings including homes to be flooded, leaving people stranded in their homes.

Ardino (Bulgarian: Ардино, formerly Turkish: Eğridere) is a town in southern Bulgaria, in the Rhodope Mountains. It is located in Kardzhali Province and it is also close to Smolyan.

It is famous for its textile industry. It has a machine-building factory and a tobacco manufacturing industry. Tourist attractions include the Belite Brezi, the Eagle rocks, and the Dyavolski most (Devil's bridge).

The Cherna (Bulgarian: Черна) is a 48 km long river in southern Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Arda of the Maritsa drainage.

The source of the river is the westernmost point of the whole Arda basin and springs in the Pereliksko–Prespanski Ridge of the western Rhodope Mountains at an altitude of 1,770 m, some 5 km southeast west of the village of Mugla. Throughout its course it flows eastwards in a narrow canyon-like valley, with a single wide section at the town of Smolyan. It flows into the Arda at an altitude of 128 m about 800 m south of the village of Leshtak. It drains the southeastern slopes of the highest section of the Pereliksko–Prespanski Ridge and the northern slopes of the Kaynadinski Ridge.