The Heart of Rhodope Mountains

The mission of the "tchan" bell is to visit as many countries in the world as possible. I would like to ask all geocachers, who find it, to hear its amazing voice. When you do this you will feel the spirit of Rhodope Mountains :) Thank you :)

The Rhodope mountains is a beautiful, mystical part of Bulgaria. Its territory is quite huge - 18 000 square kilometers - compared to the overall size of Bulgaria - 111 000 square kilometres. There are traces of Trakian, Roman, ancient Bulgarian cultures there, as the whole mountain range keeps its long forgotten secrets and beauties and the overall atmosphere is quite ancient, it is as if time had stopped and there is something magical and mystical.

This kind of bell, my trackable, is called a “tchan” bell (“чан” in Bulgarian). It is very typical for the Rhodope mountains, as once upon a time, craftsmen from the small villages had the unique ability to produce these nice-sounding bells. They were often attached to the necks of sheep and goats. It used to be a great honor to have a big collection of tchans, worn by the animals in the herd. This was a sign of wealth and high social status.

Tchan bells are produced from the following materials: brass - an alloy made of copper and zinc or an alloy made of silver and brass. The tchans are poured in their typical shapes, as this it the main difference from the other type of bells, used as well, for domestic animals - the “tуumbelek” bell (“тюмбелек” in Bulgarian) - which is forged.

In older days the shepherds spent the summer with their herds high in the mountains. During the cold winter days they used to move the animals to a warmer place - the coasts of Marmara sea. There they exchanged goods and animals for silver. When they got back home - they used to pay the tchan craftsmen to make the most beautiful and nice sounding tchans for their animals. The best sounding tchans contain lots of silver, as the biggest one could weigh up to 4 kilograms (overall weight).

The Tchan bells are typically collected in groups of 8 to 13. The group is called dizia ("дизия" in Bulgarian ). Each bell is with a different size and therefore sounds differently. The number 8 is not accidental - this is the number of tones in an octave.
 

The idea of my trackable is to bring the unique sound, the unique feeling of this picturesque, mystical part of Bulgaria - The Rhodopes - to all good people around the world : ))) I really hope that you will help it do this.

NB - The bell contains NO precious materials - it is made of brass - copper and zinc!

"И ударих чановете. И тресях елите, като че ли бяха стълбовете на порта към спасението, и удрях сребърните звънци с окървавено чело. А те биеха, биеха и аз пак станах дете, и минах през мрака на майчината си утроба. И Елинденя вече не беше долина, а сребърно езеро. И все се връщах надире, до първия ден, когато земята беше пуста и не устроена и божият дух се носеше над водите. И познах, че тоя дух беше звън на родопски чан."

Време разделно, Антон Дончев