Ardino

Ardino (Ардино, formerly Eğridere) is a town in southern Bulgaria, in the Rhodope Mountains. It is located in Kardzhali Province and it is also close to Smolyan.

It is famous for its textile industry. It has a machine-building factory and a tobacco manufacturing industry. Tourist attractions include the Belite Brezi, the Eagle rocks, and the Dyavolski most (Devil's bridge). Under Ottoman rule, Ardino, then known in Turkish as Eğridere, was a kaza centre in the Sanjak of Gümülcine in the Adrianople Vilayet before the Balkan Wars. Ardino received its name in 1934 and was declared as a town in 1960. Ardino is the birthplace of Sabahattin Ali, Turkish novelist, poet and journalist.

Villages

 * Avramovo
 * Ahryansko
 * Bashevo
 * Bistrogled
 * Bogatino
 * Borovitsa
 * Brezen
 * Byal izvor
 * Chervena skala
 * Chernigovo
 * Chubrika
 * Glavnik
 * Golobrad
 * Gorno Prahovo
 * Gurbishte
 * Dedino
 * Doyrantsi
 * Dolno Prahovo
 * Dyadovtsi
 * Enyovche
 * Hromitsa
 * Iskra
 * Kitnitsa
 * Kroyachevo
 * Latinka
 * Levtsi
 * Lenishte
 * Lyubino
 * Mak
 * Mlechino
 * Musevo
 * Padina
 * Paspal
 * Pesnopoy
 * Pravdolyub
 * Ribartsi
 * Rodopsko
 * Rusalsko
 * Svetulka
 * Sedlartsi
 * Sinchets
 * Spoluka
 * Srunsko
 * Star chitak
 * Stoyanovo
 * Suhovo
 * Temenuga
 * Turna
 * Turnoslivka
 * Yabulkovets
 * Zhaltusha

Notable natives

 * Sabahattin Ali (1907–1948), Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist