Discover the secrets of the Rhodope craftsmen

Throughout the entire century-long history of the Rhodope
population crafts as weaving, copper- smithing, wood-carving and homespun tailoring have been a part of life.

Even to this very date, when visiting some of the Rhodope villages, you may see a woman bent over an old wooden loom weaving in woolen pieces of thread tinted in all the colors of the rainbow, using her incredible sense of harmony, or hear a man tapping skillfully on an exquisite copper jar.

The French painter Matisse, who visited Bulgaria, stood dazzled in front of the Rhodope rugs, dumbfounded with their colourful magic. He had come all the way from Paris to the Rhodopes in his wish to transfer the local sense for colour to his masterpieces. And when after his return to France some Bulgarian artists used to ask him about the origins of his unusual colours, Matisse would say:
"I have borrowed this from you, from the Rhodopes … women there are doing such incredible things!"