PETRICH is strictly for connoisseurs of Balkan towns that have got rich quick by shady means - sanctions-busting during the UN embargo on Yugoslavia in its case - with more dollar millionaires and top-of-the-range cars than anywhere in Bulgaria. It's a place that has always enjoyed raffish associations. In the 1920s and 30s, Petrich was the murder capital of Bulgaria, rife with so many hired killers that the price of an assassination dropped to US$6. This was largely due to the town's status as a forward base for fighters belonging to the IMRO, who spent most of their time selling their services to gang bosses, or squabbling with each other, rather than fighting for the liberation of Macedonia. During the Communist period, Petrich's proximity to the Greek frontier ensured a steady trickle of illicit western goods, and Sofia folk came down here to buy much sought-after goodies like Levi jeans and Abba records from local black market traders. In more recent years, customs officials working at the nearby Kulata border crossing (most of whom live in Petrich) have lined their pockets by demanding bribes from lorry drivers entering or leaving Bulgaria - a practice which the government elected in June 2001 launched a campaign to stop.

Other than its pavement cafés, Petrich offers few attractions to the traveller aside from the boisterous Kukeri rites at New Year, unless you count the museum beneath the town hall (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm), harbouring some relics of Romano-Thracian Petra and more recent history involving the IMRO. Best thing about the place is the surrounding countryside of the fertile Strumeshnitsa Valley, whose excellent climate produces Bulgaria's earliest crops of cherries, melons and grapes, superb peaches, and even kiwi fruit.