A fowl species quite unusual for Bulgaria’s latitude is thriving in a village in the Rose Valley at the foot of the Balkan Range. The amiable ostrich couples bred in The Four Seasons Ranch have become the emblem of the village of Skobelevo. Thanks to them this haven is no longer a forgotten place. A few Bulgarian and foreign tourists drop by in the village lost in rose fields, to take their photos with the exotic birds. 

If you go along the road along the Balkan Range from Sofia to Burgas, it will not be surprising if you bypass the village of Skobelevo. It is just 6 km away from Pavel Banya spa resort, but no road sign is there to tell you. Well-informed tourists however know how to find the village and The Four Seasons Ranch.
The smiling owners of the farm Anna and Vesko Valev are there to meet visitors. For a fifth year now the business couple, which has actually moved to Skobelevo from Burgas, has been breeding pedigree ostriches for stud.
You may find it quite bizarre that the giant birds from South Africa live here, in the Rose Valley, but I must assure you that they feel perfectly with us, says Vesko. He contends that the severe climate and heavy snowfalls typical of the Balkan Range, are quite good for the ostriches, accustomed to living in the desert where daytime temperatures run up to 50C and nighttime ones fall below minus 40C.
Four ostrich families are bred in the ranch. Each male specimen enjoys the kind attention of two female ones. These are very loveable birds, exclaims Vesko. They devote their whole day to courting. As a result each female ostrich lays 110 eggs annually. Love apart, ostriches on The Four Seasons Farm take their time running. The South African fowl is also known for its speeding ability – it can run at up to 80 km/h. For this reason Vesko has created four different runs for long-distance racing, 60 m in length each.
“The ranch is called The Four Seasons because ostriches feel very well with us throughout the year’s four seasons,” Vesko explains. “In colder months we receive visitors from allover Bulgaria, including the guests of the nearby spa resort of Pavel Banya. Foreigners – mostly Frenchmen, Russians, Britons and Germans - come to visit during summer months on their way to the Black Sea or to the medieval capital Veliko Tirnovo. They are keen to get photographed with the animals. Our ostriches have beautiful names – Vesso, Fanny, Gery, Ivo, Donna, Anna. They just love them! Here we keep a box full of sand with a full ostrich egg inside. Everybody who comes by, can step on it, to make sure that an ostrich egg can carry up to 120 kilos of weight without breaking.”
Researchers contend that in the prehistoric past wild ostriches inhabited the territory of present-day Bulgaria. The creatures bred in the village of Skobelevo are among the most ancient animal species on the Earth foreign to almost any evolution. The species’ origin is dated to 6 to 12 million years ago. Their meat is very tender, Vesko says, very delicious and quite healthy to eat. One ostrich egg has the size of 25 to 30 hen eggs. Annie Valev has a collection of recipes for ostrich meat and eggs.
“We have here on the menu a variety of specialties such as ostrich egg omelet and stuffed ostrich egg,” Annie says. “By the way one ostrich egg is enough for 10 to 12 omelet servings. We also prepare ostrich meat stew with mushrooms, onions and carrots. For dessert we offer caramel custard from an ostrich egg.”
A South African legend has it that the eggshell of a hatched ostrich baby will bring fertility and love to its owner. Therefore Vesko and Anna have made a whole set of souvenirs using ostrich eggshells. Holding firmly their ostrich amulets, tourists bid goodbye to the animals and to the two farmers vowing to visit again the lovely Rose Valley