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Since Racho the blacksmith set up his smithy beneath a large hornbeam ( gabar , hence the town's name), Gabrovo has been a crafts centre, gaining fresh impetus at the beginning of the nineteenth century when waterwheels were introduced from Transylvania. By 1870 the town had more than eight hundred workshops powered by water, making iron and wooden implements, clothing, wool and blankets sold beyond the frontiers of the Ottoman empire; today it produces textiles in quantities exceeded only by Sliven, and half the leather goods in Bulgaria. To preserve traditional skills, Gabrovo has established the museum-village of ETARA (daily: summer 8am-6pm; winter 8am-5pm; US$3), 9km from town on the banks of the Sivek, a tributary of the Yantra. Strung out along a charming valley, with its clear bubbling stream and rich bird-life, the Etara complex has the look and feel of a film-set, and even though it's artificial, it's nonetheless convincing, and a joy to explore. Traditionally, crafts were inseparable from the charshiya , and a reconstructed bazaar of the type once common in Bulgarian towns forms the heart of the complex. Throughout much of the day artisans are at work here, hammering blades, throwing pots, carving bowls and the like, and everything they make is for sale, although note that many of the artisans leave an hour or so before the complex officially closes. Even if your interest in crafts is minimal it's difficult not to admire the interiors of the old houses, which achieve great beauty through the skilful use of simple materials. Besides dwellings and workshops, the bazaar includes a couple of places for grabbing a quick drink, including a traditional coffee house, and a bakery selling lokum (Turkish Delight), halva and other sweet treats. Another section contains a watermill ( karadzheyka ) and hydro-powered workshops for cutting timber, fulling cloth, and making braid ( gaitan ), wine flagons ( baklitsi ) and gavanki . Etara is an easy day-trip from Gabrovo - or even Veliko Tarnovo. Take trolleybus #32 from central Gabrovo to the end of the line (the Instrument engineering works), where you change to bus #7. Should you want to stay longer, the Hotel Perla , near the eastern entrance to the complex (tel 066/42784; US$18-36), has small ensuite doubles, while right opposite is the much larger Strannopriemnitsa hotel (tel 066/42026, fax 42788; US$18-36), which has some great views and includes breakfast. The Strannopriemnitsa cafe-restaurant is a standard mehana , while there's a traditional-style restaurant at the opposite end of the complex, the Rusrozhdeiska , although it's only open the same times as the complex.
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