Selected Muslim Historic Monuments and Sites in Bulgaria

The following report summarizes activities and findings on behalf of the United States
Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad during the course of
selecting, visiting, and reporting on architectural monuments and sites associated with the
Muslims in the Republic of Bulgaria.
The report includes information on Muslim monuments in Bulgaria and explains their
historical and architectural significance. Some of the material was prepared by Professors
Mark Stefanovich and Evelina Kelbetcheva of the American University in Bulgaria in
2003. Additional material was prepared by Stephen Lewis, as part of a field survey of
selected sites in the country.
Mr. Lewis prepared a database of sites. From this information, he arranged a series of
itineraries, which allowed examination and documentation of almost 50. These included
selected Sunni mosques, present and former heterodox tekkes, and selected Sunni and
heterodox mausoleums and cemeteries.
Mr. Lewis based his initial list on his earlier work on the subject. He also made use of
material presented to him by the late Nikola Mushanov, a restorer of Muslim architecture
in Bulgaria. Mr. Mushanov’s restoration projects include two sites covered in this survey:
the mosque at Samokov and the Imaret Mosque at Plovdiv. Most important, Mr. Lewis
used writings of Prof. Dr. Machiel Kiel (formerly of the University of Utrecht and the
Netherlands Oriental and Historical Institute, Istanbul), an expert in the history and
architecture of the Ottoman Balkans. For additional information, Mr. Lewis turned to
Bulgarian researcher Lyubomir Mikov, whose writings have since formed the basis for a
book, Izkustvoto na Heterodiksnite Myusyulmani v Bulgaria (Art of the Heterodox
Muslims in Bulgaria), Sofia, 2005.
From all of the sites, Mr. Lewis identified, he and Commission staff chose a small but
representative selection of Sunni and heterodox sites in certain regions of the country to
visit. The large and important Rodope mountain region and the far southeast of the
country were, however, not visited. The survey does not cover ethnic-Turkish and SlavicMuslim (Pomak) minority sites.
Whenever possible, Mr. Lewis attempted to inspect the interior as well as exterior of each
monument visited.