- Ihtiman
Ihtiman ( _bg. Ихтиман) is a town in western
Bulgaria , part ofSofia Province . It is located in the IhtimanskaSredna Gora mountains and lies in a valley 48 km fromSofia and 95 km fromPlovdiv , close toTrakiya motorway .Formerly a Roman defensive station guarding the important roads to the
Bosphorus , Ihtiman was then called "Stipon". It continued to play this role under theByzantine Empire and theBulgarian Empire , which however shifted its main defensive centre in the region to theGate of Trajan hill pass.Following the Ottoman invasion 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 .Municipality
Ihtiman is also the seat of Ihtiman municipality (part of Sofia Province), which includes the following 27 villages:
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