There lived, during the 19th century, a beautiful Turkish maid. She had long black hair and large black eyes. Her name was Zihra and she lived with her old mother in a small wooden house in the town of Berkovica, Bulgaria.

Every day, she went to fetch water from the spring that ran nearby. One day, the young judge from town saw her and fell desperately in love with her. But their love was impossible because he was a Christian and she was a Muslim.

They decided to hide from the rest of the world. They made plans of escape and one night, the young judge sent a friend of his to fetch Zihra. They placed a large box in a horse cart and Zihra was to sit inside. The two men would then bring her into the judge's house. When people saw them, they said that the box contained books.

On the morning, Zihra's mother found out her daughter's escape and news of it reached the rest of the community. They looked for her here and there but never found her. But Zihra could not bear to stay inside all the time. At night, she frequently took a stroll in the judge's garden.

The garden was surrounded by a high wall but one night, while she was sitting in the moonlight, a thief broke in and saw her there. Immediately, he alerted the people in town. A crowd gathered in front of the judge's house and the people broke in. The dragged Zihra out and took her out of town. There, they threw stones at her until she died and her body disappeared underneath. The judge was sent away and he never came back.

Today, the heap of stones is still there, untouched, on the right side of the road that goes into town. It is covered with grass but everyone knows that it is the place where beautiful Zihra was stoned for her love.