Vakarel is a village, 25 km (16 mi) away from Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

, the capital of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

.
Population: 1984 people. It is situated in the Ihtiman part of Sredna Gora

Sredna Gora

Sredna Gora is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to Balkan mountain range and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width...

 mountains. The village is important transport knot for the railway Sofia - Plovdiv

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...

. Near Vakarel is the Trakiya motorway

Trakiya motorway

The Trakia motorway or Thrace motorway, designated A1, is a motorway currently in construction in Bulgaria. It is planned to connect the capital of Sofia with Burgas on the Black Sea through Plovdiv and with Kalotina on the Serbian border. The motorway is named after the historical region of...

. Vakarel is 822 meters above sea level.

About 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) away from the village is the Vakarel Radio Transmitter. Near Vakarel is the Vakarelian Monastery 'Saint Petka'. The monastery is relatively new, established in 20th century, now is working periodically. Its yearly celebration is on 14th of October.

Near Vakarel are located several villa zones.

Vakarel's name is of Aromanian

Aromanian language

Aromanian , also known as Macedo-Romanian, Arumanian or Vlach is an Eastern Romance language spoken in Southeastern Europe...

 (Balkan Latin) origin, from the word vacarel, "cattleshed, cowshed" or with the Aromanian diminutive suffix –el, "young cowherd", cf. Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

 văcar, "cowboy, neatherd".

Gallery

File:St-Petka-Monastery-of-Vakarel.jpg|Vacareiian Monastery St.Petka
File:Vacarelian-Monastery-Church.jpg|St. Petka Church of Vakarelian Monastery 'St.Petka'
File:Vacarelian-Monastery-Church-Interior.jpg|Interior of "St.Petka' Church in Vacarelian Monastery
File:Radio-transmitter-antena-at-Vakarel.jpg|Vakarel radio transmitter

Honour

Vakarel Saddle

Vakarel Saddle

Vakarel Saddle is a crescent-shaped ice-covered saddle of elevation 1800 m in Imeon Range on Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica bounded by Antim Peak to the east-northeast, and Evlogi Peak to the southwest, and overlooking Chuprene Glacier to the northwest...

 on Smith Island

Smith Island (South Shetland Islands)

Smith Island is long and wide, lying west of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands of the British Antarctic Territory. Surface area ....

, South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

is named after Vakarel.