According to F. von Hochstetter. Scale 1 : 1,058,000
The superb syenitic and porphyritic mountain group of Vitosh forms the eastern bastion of the Mœsian plateau. Immediately to the east of it the deep valley of the Isker pierces the whole of the Balkan Mountains, and, crossing the plain of Sofia, takes its course in the direction of the Danube. The upper valley of this river and the plain mentioned form the true geographical centre of European Turkey. From Sofia diverge some of the most important roads of the peninsula, one leading through the valley of the Isker to the Lower Danube, another along the Morava valley into Servia, a third by way of the Maritza into Thracia, and a fourth down the Struma into Macedonia. It is said that Constantine the Great, struck by these important natural advantages of Sofia, then called Sardica, thought of making it the capital of his empire. {133}
TIRNOVA.
The Turks apply the name of Balkans to all the mountain ranges of the peninsula, but geographers restrict that term to the Hæmus of the ancients. This mountain rampart begins to the east of the basin of Sofia. It does not form a regular chain, but rather an elevated terrace sloping down gently in the direction of the Danube, whilst towards the south it presents an abrupt slope, it appearing almost as if the plateau on that side had suddenly sunk to a lower level. The Balkan consequently presents the appearance of a chain only when looked at from the south. But its contours even there are only slightly undulating; there are neither abrupt projections nor rocky pyramids, and the prevailing character is that of long-stretched mountain ridges. The porphyritic mountain group of Chatal, which rises to the south of the principal chain, constitutes the only exception to this gentleness of contour. Though inferior in height to the summits of the Balkan, its steep precipices, slashed crests, and chaotic rock masses strike the beholder, and the contrast between this mass of erupted rock and the gentle slopes of the calcareous hills which surround it is very great.
The uniformity of the northern slopes of the Balkan is such that, in many places, a traveller is able to reach the crest without having come in sight of mountains. When the woods have disappeared from the Balkan, these undulating slopes will be deprived of their greatest charm; but, as long as the forests ornament them as now, the country will remain one of the most delightful in Turkey. Running streams flow through each valley, bordered by pastures as brilliantly green as are those of the Alps; the villages are built in the shade of beech-trees and oaks; and nature everywhere wears a smiling aspect. But the plains which extend to the Danube are barren, and sometimes not a single tree is visible. The inhabitants, deprived of wood, are dependent upon cow-dung dried in the sun for their fuel, and they dig for themselves holes in the ground, where they seek protection from the cold of winter.
The core of the Balkan, between the basin of Sofia and that of Slivno, consists of granite, but the terraces which descend towards the Danube present every geological formation, from the metamorphic to the most recent rocks. The cretaceous formation occupies the largest area in Bulgaria, and the rivers rising in the mountains, in traversing it, form picturesque valleys and defiles. Ancient fortresses defend each of these valleys, and the towns have been built where they debouch upon the plain. Tirnova, the ancient capital of the tsars of Bulgaria, is the most remarkable of these old bulwarks of defence. The Yantra, on debouching there from the mountains, winds about curiously; steep cliffs form an amphitheatre, in the centre of which rise two precipitous isolated rocks, crowned formerly by walls and towers. The houses of the town are built on the slopes, and its suburbs extend along the foot of the cliffs.
A singular parallelism has been noticed on the northern slopes of Balkan. The elevated mountain saddles, crests of secondary chains, geological formations, the faults which give rise to the meandering of the rivers, and even the Danube itself, all follow the same direction, from west to east. As a consequence, each of the parallel valleys descending from the Balkans offers similar features; the {134} population is distributed in the same manner; and the towns occupy analogous positions. The valley of the Lom offers the only exception to the rule, for its direction is towards the north-west. It debouches upon the Danube at Rustchuk, and its green orchards and gardens are hemmed in by dazzling white cliffs of chalk rising to a height of about 100 feet.
The symmetry would be almost complete in Northern Turkey if it were not for the detached arid hills of the Dobruja, which force the Danube to make a wide détour to the north. Rising in the low and swampy delta of the Danube, these hills appear to be much higher than they are. In reality they do not exceed 1,650 feet in height. It is possible that during some very remote geological epoch the Danube took its course to the south of these hills, through the depression which has been utilised for the construction of the first Turkish railway. Trajan, who feared that the Goths might obtain a footing in this remote corner of the Roman empire, constructed one of those lines of fortifications here which are known throughout the countries of the Lower Danube as Trajan’s Walls. Remains of walls, ditches, and forts may still be traced along the banks of the marshes, and on the heights commanding them. This country of the Dobruja is the “savage hyperborean region” where Ovid, exiled from Rome, wept for the splendours of the capital. The port of Tomi, the place of his banishment, is the modern Kustenje.