The town of Ihtiman is located in South-West Bulgaria (Sofia District) in the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountains and lies in a valley 48 km from the capital city of Sofia and 95 km from city of Plovdiv, close to Trakia motorway. Formerly a Roman defensive station guarding the important roads to the Bosphorus, Ihtiman was then called Stipon. It continued to play this role under the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, which however shifted its main defensive centre in the region to the Gate of Trajan hill pass. Following the Ottoman invasion in the 14th century, the town`s name was changed to Ihtiman, which is thought to be of Ottoman Turkish origin. The traditional and dominant religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity but the population is mixed - romas (gipsies) and Bulgarians. Ihtiman has never been a tourist centre though recently it became quite popular for its 18-hole golf course of 5335 meters with a Par 71 rating. British experts and Spanish architects have designed and set up the course, which opened in 2000.
Town of Ihtiman
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