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The Belogradchik Rocks are a group of strangely shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations located on the western slopes of the Balkan Mountains near the town of Belogradchik. The rocks vary in colour from primarily red to yellow and some of them reach up to 200 m in height. The rocks also hold hundreds of caves, including the Magura Cave where the bones of prehistoric species like cave bear or cave hyena have been discovered as well as magnificent cave paintings dating from 10,000 BC - 600 BC. The rocks are astonishing, not only for their age of over 230 million years, but also for the dozens of legends about the bizarre natural forms. Each rock formation bears a name: Adam and Eve, The Schoolgirl, The Bear, The Madonna and so on, and each one comes with a story. Among the most popular legends surrounding the rocks are those of the Madonna and the Schoolgirl. The first legend has it that once there was a convent in the area of the rocks. Sister Vitinya served there, but she was so lovely that rumours of her unparalleled beauty spread far and wide. Antonio the Roman heard of this and decided to seek her out. A burning passion flared up between them and Vitinya got pregnant. Because of that shame, she was banished from the convent, but while they persecuted her, Antonio appeared on white horse to save his beloved. The providence intervened – the earth shook, the convent collapsed to the ground and Vitinya, Antonio and the child were turned into stone. The Schoolgirl’s legend is remarkably similar. A Turkish dervish developed an unholy passion for a beautiful Bulgarian girl and lured her into a meeting. The terrified girl somehow managed to wrestle out of his hands and started running to the rocks, but the dervish mercilessly pursued her. Suddenly a bear came in front of the schoolgirl and when the bear was just about to devour her, they were all petrified