There are many interesting, beautiful and deeply moving legends in Bulgarian history. For those who are not aware of this, Bulgaria was under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire for five hundred years. Many of the Bulgarian legends are connected with that very sad phase of Bulgarian history. One of the legends is telling us about the way Kadin bridge (Kadin Most in Bulgarian) was built. It is one of the most famous bridges left till now. Kadin bridge is in the village of Nevestino, near the city of Kiustendil, the Soutwestern Bulgaria. The bridge is made of stone and it is remarkably beautiful. There is still inscription on it saying that it was built by the order of vizir Ishak Pasha during the reign of sultan Mehmed ?? who is also known as "The Conqueror".
The legend says that the vizir decided to build the bridge because one day while he was on his way to Bosnia, he couldn’t cross the swift-flowing river of Struma. As the story tells, there were three brothers who were assigned to build the bridge. So the three young men started building it but whatever they did, they worked in vain. Because what they managed to build during the day, the river destroyed it at night and washed everything away. The brothers were wondering what to do. They thought very hard trying to find a solution. After many days they arrived at a decision that the river wants something and they should offer up a sacrifice. In order to build the bridge and fulfill their task, the three brothers decided to built-in within the stone walls of the bridge one of their beautiful and beloved wives. Since they could not choose which one, they decided that the busiest one, who is going to bring her husband lunch first, should be the one.
It turned out that it was the wife of master Manol. Her name was Struma. She came first, bringing the bread she baked for her husband and carrying their first child. Then the brothers built her in the middle of the bridge vault. The poor woman was begging for mercy and crying. Finally, when she understood that they will not change their minds, the only thing that she asked crying was to leave holes for her eyes and for her breast so she could see and feed her child. Before long the misfortuned mother died and her milk turned into stone on the walls of the bridge. Since then many nursing mothers from all over the country come to the bridge, take piece of the stone, boil it and drink the water in order to have enough milk for their children.
The legend says that the vizir decided to build the bridge because one day while he was on his way to Bosnia, he couldn’t cross the swift-flowing river of Struma. As the story tells, there were three brothers who were assigned to build the bridge. So the three young men started building it but whatever they did, they worked in vain. Because what they managed to build during the day, the river destroyed it at night and washed everything away. The brothers were wondering what to do. They thought very hard trying to find a solution. After many days they arrived at a decision that the river wants something and they should offer up a sacrifice. In order to build the bridge and fulfill their task, the three brothers decided to built-in within the stone walls of the bridge one of their beautiful and beloved wives. Since they could not choose which one, they decided that the busiest one, who is going to bring her husband lunch first, should be the one.
It turned out that it was the wife of master Manol. Her name was Struma. She came first, bringing the bread she baked for her husband and carrying their first child. Then the brothers built her in the middle of the bridge vault. The poor woman was begging for mercy and crying. Finally, when she understood that they will not change their minds, the only thing that she asked crying was to leave holes for her eyes and for her breast so she could see and feed her child. Before long the misfortuned mother died and her milk turned into stone on the walls of the bridge. Since then many nursing mothers from all over the country come to the bridge, take piece of the stone, boil it and drink the water in order to have enough milk for their children.
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