---
title: 'Village of Gela, Birthplace of Orpheus'
date: Mon, 07 Mar 2016 08:56:17 +0000
draft: false
categories: ['Bulgaria']
tags: ['Mountains', 'Orpheus', 'Thrace']
slug: 'village-gela-birthplace-orpheus'
description: 'Gela, the supposed birthplace of Thracian musician and poet Orpheus, has a breathtaking view of the Rhodope Mountains.'
---

As you drive into the village of Gela in southern Bulgaria a sign informs you that this is the birthplace of [Orpheus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus), the legendary Thracian musician and poet. I'm not sure if it's true, but who _wouldn't_ be able to "charm all living things and even stones" with their music if they were born in a village with such a view? These are the [Rhodope Mountains](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodope_Mountains) in the golden afternoon sunlight of early spring.

{{< figure src="IMG_20160305_163845.jpg" caption="View of the Rhodope Mountains from Gela, Bulgaria" >}}

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Gela is just a stone's throw from the cultural village of Shiroka Laka and about twenty minutes from the ski resort town of Pamporovo.