Ardino

Ardino 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. 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.