Manastirski Heights () are a hilly ridge in southeastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. Administratively, they lie in

Haskovo Haskovo ( ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria ...

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

and

Yambol Province Yambol (, ''oblast Yambol'', former name Okrug, Yambol okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south. It is named after its main city Yambol, while other towns include Straldzha, Bolyarovo and Elhovo. The provi ...

s. The heights are situated between the

Upper Thracian Plain The Upper Thracian Plain (, ''Gornotrakiyska nizina'') constitutes the northern part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in southern Bulgaria, between Sredna Gora mountains to the north and west, a secondary mountain chain parallel ...

to the west and the Elhovo Field to the east. To the north are the

Svetiiliyski Heights Svetiiliyski Heights (, meaning the Heights of St Elijah) are a hilly ridge in southeastern Bulgaria. Administratively, they lie in Sliven and Yambol Provinces. The heights are situated between the Upper Thracian Plain to the west and the Elhovo ...

and to the south several low hills link them with the Sakar mountain range. The Manastirski Heights span some 30 km from west–southwest to east–northeast. The width varies from 15 km in the west to 5 km in the east. The western and southwestern part of the ridge consists of low-lying hills and the higher eastern area is dominated by two clearly defined dome-shapes elevations, separated by a flat saddle. The western elevation is Gradishte (600 m), situated about 1.2 km northwest of the village of Golyam Manastir, and is the highest point of the Manastirski Heights. They are built up of

gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...

and crystalline

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

s. North of the heights, at the village of Krumovo, there is a deposit of iron ore. The climate is transitional continental with Mediterranean influence. The ridge is drained by several small tributaries of the

Ovcharitsa The Ovcharitsa () is a river in southern Bulgaria, a left tributary of the river Sazliyka, itself a left tributary of the Maritsa. With a length of 72 km, it is the largest tributary of the Sazliyka. The river takes its source at an altitud ...

and Sokolitsa, both left tributaries of the

Sazliyka The Sazliyka or Rakitnitsa (, ; also transliterated ''Sazlijka'' or ''Sazliika'') is a river in southeastern Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Maritsa. It originates in the Sarnena Sredna Gora mountain range. In its upper course until Radnevo, it ...

to the west, as well as the rivers

Kalnitsa The Kalnitsa () is a 72 km long river in southern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Sinapovska reka, itself a left tributary of the Tundzha of the Maritsa drainage. It is the largest tributary of the Sinapovska reka and is longer than ...

and

Sinapovska reka The Sinapovska reka () is a river in southern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the river Tundzha of the Maritsa drainage, with a length of 50 km. The river takes its source under the name Golyamata reka at an altitude of 574 m in the smal ...

of the

Tundzha The Tundzha ( ; ; ''Tonsus'' in antiquity) is a river in southeastern Bulgaria and northwesternmost Turkey, a left tributary of the Maritsa. With a length of 390 km, of which 350 km are in Bulgaria, it is Maritsa's longest tributary, ...

basin. The soils are cinnamon forest soils. The higher areas are covered with sparse deciduous forests and at lower elevations are extensive pastures, favourable for livestock breeding. There are 14 villages on the heights and their foothills: Vladimirovo,

General Toshevo General Toshevo ( ; ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Dobrich Province. Located in the historic region of Southern Dobruja, it is the administrative centre of the General Toshevo Municipality, homonymous municipality and was named af ...

, Golyam Manastir,

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Kamenna reka Kamenna Reka is a village in the municipality of Topolovgrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkan ...

, Malak Manastir, Matsa, Miladinovtsi, Ovchi Kladenets,

Orlov dol Orlov Dol is a village in the municipality of Topolovgrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria. History The village's previous name was Minchevo. In the nineteenth century, the Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, sp ...

, Polski Gradets, Pchela, Svetlina and Skalitsa. There are three roads from the national network running through the Manastirski Heights and their foothills: a 7.7 km stretch of the second class II-55 road

Debelets Debelets ( ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, part of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality in Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is situated in the bottom side of the Belichinata valley near to the Belitsa (Yantra), Belitsa river. North from the town is situate ...

–

Nova Zagora Nova Zagora ( ) is a town located in the southeastern plains of Bulgaria, in Sliven Province. It is the administrative centre of Nova Zagora Municipality. As of December 2009, the town had a population of 19,562 inhabitants, while the entire mun ...

–

Svilengrad Svilengrad (; ; ) is a town in Haskovo Province, south-central Bulgaria, situated at the tripoint of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality. Geography Svilengrad is close to the ro ...

passes through their westernmost reaches between Polski Gradets and Madrets, a 14 km section of the third class III-536 road

Yambol Yambol ( ) is a city in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the administrative cente ...

–Skalitsa–Matsa runs along the northwestern foothills between Skalitsa and Matsa, and a 13.5 km section of the third class III-559 road Polski Gradets–

Topolovgrad Topolovgrad ( , ; ) is a town in south-central Bulgaria, part of Haskovo Province, situated at the northern foot of the Sakar Mountain. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Topolovgrad Municipality. Etymology Until 1934 the town was ...

– Ustrem is located in the southern parts of the ridge.

Gallery

File:Drama-village-view.jpg , Manastirski Heights at Drama File:Topolovgrad2.jpg , A distant view from Topolovgrad Келяв_габър_9.jpg , Oriental hornbeam (''

Carpinus orientalis ''Carpinus orientalis'', known as the Oriental hornbeam, is a species of hornbeam in the birch family Betulaceae, subfamily Coryloideae, native to southeastern Europe and Western Asia. It is quite tolerant of dry conditions, and usually occurs on ...

'')

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria, 1980 , title = Географски речник на България , trans-title = Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria , last1 = Мичев (Michev) , first1 = Николай (Nikolay) , last2 = Михайлов (Mihaylov) , first2 = Цветко (Tsvetko) , last3 = Вапцаров (Vaptsarov) , first3 = Иван (Ivan) , last4 = Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev) , first4 = Светлин (Svetlin) , chapter = , year = 1980 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = Hills of Bulgaria Landforms of Haskovo Province Landforms of Stara Zagora Province Landforms of Yambol Province