Cobblestoned Yambol

In Yambol over the past few months there has been much work and repair of the roads leading in and out of the town. In the main the side road have been worked upon. The main reason for this is the growth of the tree roots that spread themselves like giant underground moles creating rises and falls not only on the pavements but on the traffic bearing roads.

The Bulgarian way of doing this is by hand, there is no massive tarmac bearing machines with the job being finished in a couple of hours - the hands on job takes weeks but there is another reason.

Every road is being reconstructed with cobblestones. I really thought that the days of these types of road was coming to and end but it is thriving in Yambol. On a bed of compacted sand each individual traditional cobblestone is placed and sealed in place giving the arching patterns so characteristic of this form of road.

Whilst the repair and re-laying is going on there is absolute mayhem with the closed road but the beeping of horns, the shouting of drivers trying to negotiate their way up a two way street with a one way facility is very funny from a pedestrians point of view.

But then the pedestrians don't really have any consideration in any case as the pavement is totally block with stones and sand and walks up these road are either diverted into the middle of the road or high jumping over the bright yellow token tape. Pram and pushchairs have to contend with an assault course more suited to army training exercises. Do the they complain? No not an ounce as they make their way un-flustered through the obstacle set in front of them.

I suppose it has always been this way and Yambol is well versed in dealing with this. It is just another minor point in the overall development of Yambol that remains a lovely cobble based town in many places. Well worth the inconvenience.