Ihtiman (Bulgarian: Ихтиман [ixtiˈman]) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the Ihtiman Valley of the Ihtimanska Sredna Gora mountain range and lies in a valley 48 km from Sofia and 95 km from Plovdiv, close to the Trakiya motorway.

Ihtiman
Ihtiman is located in Bulgaria
Ihtiman
Ihtiman
Location of Ihtiman
Ihtiman is located in Balkans
Ihtiman
Ihtiman
Ihtiman (Balkans)
Coordinates: 42°26′N 23°49′E / 42.433°N 23.817°E / 42.433; 23.817
CountryBulgaria
Province
(Oblast)
Sofia Province
Government
 • MayorKaloyan Iliev
Elevation
658 m (2,159 ft)
Population
 (13.09.2005)
 • Total14,525
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
2050
Area code0724

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 later under the First and Second Bulgarian Empires, with the main defensive centre in the region of the Gate of Trajan hill pass. In 986 the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel dealt a crushing defeat on the Byzantines in the battle of the Gates of Trajan.

Following the Ottoman conquest of Bulgaria 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.

Ihtiman Hook on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Ihtiman.[1]

Climate

edit

Ihtiman has a temperate continental climate with very cold and snowy winters and not too hot, relatively short summers. The average annual temperature is 8.9C.

Climate data for Ikhtiman
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.5
(65.3)
21.2
(70.2)
30.4
(86.7)
28.5
(83.3)
33.4
(92.1)
35.4
(95.7)
37.5
(99.5)
42.5
(108.5)
36.9
(98.4)
32.8
(91.0)
25.8
(78.4)
19.2
(66.6)
42.5
(108.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.3
(37.9)
5.8
(42.4)
10.7
(51.3)
16.6
(61.9)
21.3
(70.3)
25.2
(77.4)
28.1
(82.6)
28.0
(82.4)
23.7
(74.7)
17.8
(64.0)
10.9
(51.6)
4.9
(40.8)
16.4
(61.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.5
(29.3)
0.5
(32.9)
5.4
(41.7)
10.2
(50.4)
14.9
(58.8)
18.7
(65.7)
21.2
(70.2)
21.0
(69.8)
16.5
(61.7)
11.5
(52.7)
6.0
(42.8)
0.4
(32.7)
10.4
(50.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.2
(22.6)
−3.8
(25.2)
0.1
(32.2)
3.7
(38.7)
8.5
(47.3)
11.1
(52.0)
13.4
(56.1)
13.0
(55.4)
9.2
(48.6)
5.1
(41.2)
1.1
(34.0)
−3.2
(26.2)
4.4
(39.9)
Record low °C (°F) −33.9
(−29.0)
−31
(−24)
−28
(−18)
−9.6
(14.7)
−3.7
(25.3)
−1.2
(29.8)
1.5
(34.7)
1.3
(34.3)
−5.8
(21.6)
−8.4
(16.9)
−19.5
(−3.1)
−33.5
(−28.3)
−33.9
(−29.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 39
(1.5)
30
(1.2)
38
(1.5)
50
(2.0)
70
(2.8)
78
(3.1)
59
(2.3)
46
(1.8)
40
(1.6)
44
(1.7)
49
(1.9)
42
(1.7)
585
(23.0)
Source: Stringmeteo.com

Retrieved on March 30, 2013.

Municipality

edit

Ihtiman is also the seat of Ihtiman municipality (part of Sofia Province), which includes the following 27 villages:

Twin-towns

edit

Notes

edit
edit