The village of Nova Mahala located at 1273 m. above sea level in the Western Rhodopes. Its population is Muslim by faith, settled sometime after the late 14th c. For this reason, the toponymy in the surrounding area is Turkish, often a literal translation of previously existing local names. There is no continuity between the earlier Christian past of the area and the traditions now known. The area was included in the territory of the Roman province of Rhodope, founded by Emperor Diocletian and existing in the period ca. 293 – 640s. The province was part of the Diocese of Thrace.