Orpheus Tourism Project
Sofia News Agency, 11.03.2005
Sofia and Athens have agreed to work out and implement a common policy to enhance the capacity of the Rhodopes region to attract tourists. The project will run under the name of mythical Orpheus, which has recently sparkled accusations of theft of historical and cultural symbols. Bulgaria's Minister of Tourism Nina Chilova and her Greek counterpart Dmitris Avramopulos conferred at Berlin's tourism expo over the possibilities to develop a joint tourist product under the title "Rhodopes - Homeland of Orpheus". They said it was also possible to promote it through the network of Greek tourist bureaus abroad. This is actually the first initiative - enjoying quite a possible success - of the newly formed Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the young minister Chilova. In Berlin she invited her Greek colleague to visit the country and its unique archaeological findings in the bosom of the Rhodopes Mountain. Historians believe the mythical Orpheus of divine musical talent, who was part of the Argonauts expedition in search for the Golden Fleece, was born and lived in the Rhodopes area, which is prevailingly situated nowadays within Bulgarian territory. see source