A Yearly Pipe Feast
Ilinden is a traditional local feast that takes place near the Village of Gela, during the first week of August. People from around the region and the country come for this extended family gathering to dance and listen to music in a large meadow. You can enjoy famous lamb Barbecue in the Rhodopean style, called “Cheverme”.
With its playing annual bagpipe competition the feast attracts a lot of tourists.
A bag-pipe contest is organized with the participation of bagpipe players from the Rhodopes, the country and abroad. Every year hundreds of tourists come to the village attracted by the dazzling concert of the bagpipes and the spectacular panoramic views from the high hills. The village situated at the foot of the highest mount of Goliam Perelik is recorded in the early Greek scriptures as the birthplace of Orpheus and a temple to Dionisius. The village amateur ensemble, called “Manol Radichev”, which conquered the hearts of audience at the International Festival of the Highland Song in Llangollen ( Wales ), is the most amusing part of the show. The famous Rhodopean Cheverme (lamb on the spit) is being cooked in the open in the meadows. Free access for tourists.