The Uzundzhovo Church and remains of the Uzundzhovo Fair (Uzundzhovskipanair)

The Assumption is the largest rural church in Bulgaria. It combines in an amazing way various elements of Christianity and Islam. Built initially as a Christian temple, in 1593 it was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. A mosque was erected in its place – it was a part of a large estate of caravan seraglio, which according to the chronicles-writers resembled a fortress, whose central entrance is preserved until the present days. In 1906 the Turkish government returned the property back to Bulgaria and the reconstruction of the mosque into a church began at that time.
In 2007 the church was thoroughly reconstructed by the Haskovo Municipality. During the restoration works two medieval inscriptions in Arabic on religious-philosophical topics were discovered. All the icons and frescoes were restored. The windows were decorated with fascinating stained glass works, depicting scenes from the life of the Mother of God.
Uzundzhovo Fair (Uzundzhovskipanair) -Initial information is from 1489 in Anchialo inscription (Pomorie), where the name of the village is mentioned in the register of marketplaces selling Anhialian salt.
Rise of the fair - In 1593 the Great Vizier Sinan Pasha, according to Austrian historian Joseph von Hammer, donated 30,000 pennies from the treasury to build the largest fair in the Ottoman Empire, which is convened annually for 40 days in late summer and collected about 100 thousand people.
The last time Uzundjovska Fair was held in 1876.