This eco path connects the Lilac area to the village of Debel Dyal.
The martyr for the orthodox religion and nationality Lazar (whose secular name was Lalyo) Bulgarian of Debel Dyal was the one to put this little village on the map. He was born around 1774 and at a very young age moved to Soma. Libeled by the Turks, he was forced to accept Islam. He, however, refused to betray his faith, his family and his fatherland, and was killed on 23rd April 1802 at the age of 28. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church canonized him and declared him a martyr. His image is depicted as a full-length portrait in the ‘St. Archangel’ Chapel at the Rila Monastery.
The village of Debel Dyal is also connected historically with the fate of Todor Asenov, member of the group of rebels of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha, who crossed the Danube on the night of 7th July 1868. Todor Asenov was elected treasurer of the group, but he was seriously wounded in the battle of Kanladere near Sevlievo. After an arduous passage to the Balkan Mountains, the 24-year-old Todor Asenov, brother of Hadzhi Dimitar, was killed in the area of Zelenikovets, near Debel Dyal. A monument now stands at the place of his death.
