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A conglomerate of three villages (Smolyan, Raikovo and Ustovo) that straggles for 15km along the banks of the River Cherna, SMOLYAN , the administrative and cultural capital of the central and western Rhodopes, embodies Communism's attempt to mould the mixed Christian-Pomak agrarian population of Bulgaria's southern margins into the urbanized citizens of a modern socialist state. Situated 1000m above sea level, it's one of the highest towns in Bulgaria, which means that the climate in summer is a lot fresher and more bearable than much of the rest of the country. Attractively squeezed between pine-clad peaks, the modern housing estates perched above the centre have maintained something of the region's traditional highland architecture, giving the whole place a rural feel, underscored by the goats and piles of logs in the backstreets.
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