The Rada Dupka Cave Near Borovo Village

There are plenty of interesting places around Borovo village and you can visit them all easily. Whether you want to enjoy nature, which the Rhodopi Mountains have, or you prefer to look at the stars at the Rozhen observatory, you can easily find something that will impress you.

Today, however, we want to introduce you to one almost unknown place, which has a very interesting story behind it. We are talking about the Rada dupka cave. You may like spelunking, or maybe not, but you will definitely find the story engaging and worth a listen. If you want to visit the cave, be sure to ask the locals for the road there as we do not have it. That way the adventure can be even more wholesome!

The Beginning of Our Story

As with all legends, the one about Rada dupka has some truth to it, but it also has certain mythological elements. We do not know how much of the true story has survived through the ages, but we will tell you the legend as we have heard it.

Everything starts with the orthodox priest Apostol and his family sometime back in the centuries of the Bulgarian history. Together with his wife Rada they had a 16-year-old son, with whom they lived in the area of today’s Borovo village.

One day during one of the Ottoman raids during the times the priest Apostol was murdered. To add insult to injury, Rada’s son was taken captive to Istanbul, where the Ottomans took captured youngsters to train them in the military or to spread their religion.

Back to the Roots

After some time the son of Apostol and Rada completed his training. It was customary to send the newly trained to annual marches, when they spread their faith. When they asked the son where he wanted to go he chose to go back to his birth place and proclaim his religion there. And so he was sent back to the area of Borovo Village.

When he came back, he started visiting his mother’s house, when she was away to work for her living. He ate at the house every day, which is why his mother started wondering why the food constantly disappeared. One day however, the son decided to show himself.

When Rada saw him, she recognized him immediately by the birthmark on his head. She ran towards him and hugged him, offering him to stay there and live with here. That way they started taking care of each other with a love that can only exist between a mother and her son. But since the son was following the Islam faith, he felt obligated to make his mother change her own faith as well. For the longest time he tried to persuade her, but she kept on denying.

A Refuge

With the passing of the time the persistence of the son grew stronger, while the denial of the mother was harder and harder to accept. When Rada realized that she could no longer live in peace with her son, she decided to run away. So she did exactly that and in the Borovo area she found a small cave, where she hid, while her son searched for her far and wide.

For some time Rada remained at the cave, but in the end she decided to look for a refuge in the Bachkovo monastery. Once there she told her story to all the people who were willing to listen. From then on the small cave carries her name – Rada dupka (or the Rada hole, in English). But mother and son never saw each other ever again.