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Though it lacks the cachet of antiquity, SAMOKOV can boast a tradition of skilled craft work second to none in Bulgaria. Founded as a mining community in the fourteenth century, it soon became one of the busiest manufacturing centres in the Turkish empire (its name derives from the Bulgarian verb "to forge"), where all kinds of crafts guilds flourished, particularly weavers and tailors, who turned flax (still a major product) into uniforms for the Ottoman army. From the seventeenth century until the end of Turkish rule, Samokov's stature eclipsed that of Sofia and Kyustendil - and was raised even higher by the artistry of its woodworkers and painters, who decorated Bulgaria's finest monasteries. Nowadays the town is famous as the centre of Bulgaria's most prolific potato-growing area, and you'll see sacks of the things sold by roadside hawkers on your journey into town. Though foreign tourists from nearby Borovets are sometimes bussed in to wander around during the day, the place isn't really geared up for tourism, so it's best to digest what there is and move on.
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