-
8/9/2019 VB89
1/69
B U L G A R I A S E N G L I S H M A
G A Z I N E
ISSUE89/2014 5.95leva
ISSN1
312-8590
0
1
9
7
7
1
3
1
2
8
5
9
1
1
2
JONATHAN
ALLEN
>> BUILDING NEW RUINS > INTOLERANCE TO TOLERANCE > BULGARIAS MANY CAPITALS >PYRAMIDS OF STOB > ST VALENTINE VS. TRIFON ZAREZAN > KARANOVO, BEGINNING OF HISTORY >
BALKANS TRAVEL IN ZADAR > LEGACIES OF COMMUNISM: ROMANIA > FICTION BY VLADISLAV HRISTOV >
QUIZZES, FUN, ENTRAINMENT, REVIEWS AND MORE >>
-
8/9/2019 VB89
2/69
I love my Lagoon!
Sofia
4B Simeonovsko Shose Blvd
phone/fax: 02 962 80 60
mobile: 0882 33 22 11
www.msyachting.bg
Clar!s,
imagebuilder-PhotoNicolasClaris
| 380 | 39 NEW | 400 S2 NEW | 421 | 450 | 52 NEW | 560 | 620 |
Official representative
-
8/9/2019 VB89
3/69
-
8/9/2019 VB89
4/69
2 3
As we are nearing the th issue of this journal (due out for
Christmas ), it is time to recap and change.First the recap. Vagabond, Bulgaria's English Magazine, started in when this country was a ver y different place. The economy wasbooming, expats were flowing in, investment reached unprecedented
volumes, Bulgarians were happy and optimistic as many of themthought EU membership (which was attained a few months after thefirst issue of Vagabond) would bring on irreversible reforms in makingBulgaria a free and democratic society.
Eight years on the picture is quite different. Business is low, thecountry seems to b e in the grips of a bunch of omnipotent "oligarchs,"civil society is struggling to find its feet, and people feel they havebeen brought back to the early s as they quibble over the vicesof democracy, the virtues of Communism and what a hypotheticalfirst-past-the-post electoral system would mean. Many expats havediscovered that after the happy Bulgarian summer, when the whetheris balmy and the beer is cheap, there comes a long Balkan winter
when your kids have to go to school and you have to visit a Bulgarianhospital. Sadly, many have left, some of them for good. Consequently,Vagabondhas lost some of its readers.
The reasons for the decline are of course many and varied, as thetwo most obvious ones are the world economic downturn coupled
with the inept policies of the Bulgarian government which didnothing to alleviate the crisis and every thing to consolidate itsstranglehold on power. It will probably take years to go back to pre-crisis levels, many Bulgarians fear.
Yet, it is not only Great Depression news. In our case, we actuallyexpanded into book publishing, becoming the only Bulgarian pressspecialising in English-language periodicals and books. So far, wehave produced half a dozen books. Some of our titles have sold outboth domestically and internationally, and we have done reprints.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
5/69
4
Not bad for a small company struggling against the e conomic crisisand the various political and business pressures. I am proud to saythat we have not yielded to any of those. We remain unaffiliated inany way to the big players on the media market, and we are confidentthat this is the right way to go in the Bulgaria of the s.
Vagabondmay have lost some readers, mainly those expats who left,but it has gained new ones. As we increasingly focus on aspects of
Bulgaria that remain outside the scope of the mainstream media and as no one else does that in English Vagabondhas become thesource of information for any non-Bulgarian speaker who is forone reason or another interested in this country. This target g roupincludes, but is not limited to, intelligent travellers who want to getoff the beaten track to discover this c ountry's amazing archaeological,historical, cultural and ethnic heritage, the whole of the diplomaticcorps in Sofia, the expats in and outside Sofia, and many Englishspeakers abroad who have an interest in Bulgaria.
Significantly, in addition to running Vagabondthe way you knowit erudite, witty and independent in the next couple of years we
plan to complete at least three new major book projects, all dealingwith aspects of Bulgaria and things Bulgarian that remain not verywell known to the English-speaking world.
And now for the changes. As you see, the magazine you are holdingin your hands looks quite different from what you have become usedto. The format and the graphic design have been spruced up and the
number of pages has increased. We will be making changes to theeditorial content as well. Thanks to the continuing support of theAmerica for Bulgaria Foundation, we will bring you more traveloguesabout lesser known destinations throughout the country.
You won't get bored in .
Enjoy your Vagabond!
SOFIA 10 Lege St, phone: +359 885 179 310 | BURGAS78 Aleksandrovska St, phone: +359 888 903 600
www.raphaelholisticjewelry.com
ATTRACT...
LOVE,
HAPPINESS
AND RICHNESS...
USE THE STRENGHT
OF CRYSTALS
AND SYMBOLS
AND CONNECT
WITH THE POWER
OF THE UNIVERSE...
FEEL THE
POWER...
-
8/9/2019 VB89
6/69
6
68. Balkans travelZadar
76. Legacies of CommunismJail at land 's end
82. FictionVladislav Hristov
87. Highflights
128. Inside track
8. uote-unquote
9.Joke of the month
10. Bulgaria's monthly quiz
12. ForumIntolerant BulgariaBuilding new ruins
20. InterviewJonathan Al len
30. Holidays14 February dilemma
34. uiz
35. High beamBulgaria's old capitals then & now
Pyramids of StobKaranovo
cover by Anthony Georgieff
BU LG AR IA SE NG LI SH M AG
AZ IN E
ISSUE89/20145 .95 leva
ISSN
1312-8590
0
1
9
7 7
1
3
1
2
8
5
9
1 1
2
JONATHANALLEN
>>BUILDINGNEWRUINS>INTOLERANCETOTOLERANCE>BULGARIASMANYCAPITALS>
PYRAMIDSOFSTOB>STVALENTINEVS.TRIFONZAREZAN>KARANOVO:BEGINNINGOFHISTORY>
BALKANSTRAVEL:ZADAR>LEGACIESOFCOMMUNISM:ROMANIA>FICTIONBYVLADISLAVHRISTOV>
QUIZZES,FUN,ENTRAINMENT,REVIEWSANDMORE>>
issue 89 / 2014
PUBLISHER
Vagabond MEDIA23 Budapest Street 1000 Sofia
phone: (+359 2) 983 3308fax: (+359 2) 983 [email protected]
www.vagabond.bg
MANAGING EDITOR
Anthony [email protected]
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Elena [email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Jane Keating
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Gergana [email protected]
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
GREECE
Jeni [email protected]
MEDIA SALES
Alexandra [email protected]
Kristina [email protected]
Tsvetelina [email protected]
Svetlana [email protected]
Vanya [email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
Antoaneta Baeva
Bozhidara Georgieva
Dimana Trankova
Minka Vazkresenska
Stamen Manolov
Violeta Rozova
Vladislav Hristov
PAPER
Cover: g/m2Inner page: g/m2
PRINTED IN BULGARIA
Janet-45 Print & Publishing,Plovdiv
COPYRIGHT
Vagabond Media. No partof this publication may be re-produced in any form withoutthe express written consent of
the publisher
ISSN 13128590
Unlessexplicitlystated, the viewsandopinionsexpressedorimpliedin , Bulgaria'sEnglish
Monthly, are intendedfor entertainmentonly. The publisherassumes no responsibility, director implied,
forany advertisingcontent. Productsand servicesmentioned are subjectto change withoutprior notice.
Youare stronglyadvised to make properresearch andseek professionaladvice before makingany financial
commitmentin response to advertisingmaterial
Pursuantto Article 7a, Paragraph3 ofthe BulgarianCompulsoryDeposition ofPrinted andOther Worksact
itisherewithdeclaredthatAnthonyGeorgieffisthe sole proprietorofVagabondMedia Ltd.
Produced on Apple Macintosh
computer equipment only
62. MotoringAround Samokov in few hours
-
8/9/2019 VB89
7/69
9
Ataka Press Centre sends out a newsrelease that it was actually the kids
who started the fight.
ABV.BG
To BSP members speaking: Will you join the ABV? No, I'll stay with Google.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
The crow sat on a branch with apiece of cheese in his beak. Herecomes the fox.
Fox: Crow, will you go to theballots?
Crow: No.As he opened his beak to speak,
the cheese fell down and the fox ateit. So, the crow started thinking: "IfI had said yes, would that changeanything?"
"From spit and hate more Bulgarian patriots are born."VOLEN SIDEROV,Ataka leader
"GERB don't own media. All I have is a Facebookaccount."Former Prime MinisterBOYKO BORISOV
"When I travel around the country and see poorpeople, I weep. My rich friends told me to share withyou that they, too, weep when they see poor people."NIKOLAY BAREKOV
, former TV journalist turned politician
"The first word I learnt in Bulgarian was utre,or tomorrow. Everythings tomorrow."Footballer BRIAN HOWARDwho left CSKA before the end of his contract
due to persistently unpaid wages
"The solution for Bulgaria is not a new waveof revolutions, messiahs and populists."PresidentROSEN PLEVNELIEV
STATELY VISIT
A village somewhere in themiddle of nowhere. A telephone. Arepresentative of the mayor of thenearby town. The phone rings.
Hallo, Boyko Borisov is on hisway to your village to inaugurate amonument that we will built withEU funds in .
12IvanVazovSt.
Sofia
phone:9880370
Checkpoint CharlieLive Jazzon Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
East meets Westin Sofia at
GourmetCuisine
The mayor rep calls in the guardand orders him to go to the squareand fire his gun in the air to leteveryone know Boyko is coming.
The guard runs to the square andfires a shot. An old granny shows up.
What's up? Has the bread truckarrived?
No, Boyko Borisov is coming. Ah well....Granny goes home, and no one else
turns up. The guard fires anothershot. Same old granny comes overand inquires:
Has the bread truck arrived?
No, granny, Boyko Borisov iscoming. Yes, I heard you shoot once, but
did you miss?
WHO THE F*CK STARTED IT?
Volen Siderov goes on a charityvisit to a kindergarten. Later, the
8 -
-
8/9/2019 VB89
8/69
10 11
When do Bulgarians puton theirmartenitsa?
. On March. On March. On March
The name of whichBulgarian prime ministerdoesnt derive fromIstanbul?
.Stefan Stambolov
.Aleksandar Stamboliyski.Konstantin Stoilov
Where in Bulgaria you cansee prehistoric cave art?
.In Magurata Cave. In the Devetashka Cave.In the Devils ThroatCave
Which Bulgarian city isfamed for its dried ham?
.Tryavna.Elena.Bansko
Where is the Museum ofBulgarian Railways?
.In Sofia.In Ruse.In Varna
Which Bulgarian searesort is also a part ofa nature park?
.Golden Sands.Albena.Sunny Beach
Which major Bulgarianpolitical party started tosplit in January?
. BSP.DPS.GERB
Which town was the centreof Bulgarian IT industryunder Communism?
.Vratsa
.Pernik. Pravets
Which Sofianeighbourhood is deemedprestigious?
.Lyulin.Boyana.Mladost
A
ntho
nyGeorgieff
ake our test to doublecheck
by Bozhidara Georgieva
'
Communist-era IT thrived here
, Bulgaria's English Monthly, is distributed inthe airports in Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Plovdiv.
has a large subscription base among expatriatesin Bulgaria as well as people interested in Bulgaria in the UK,
the United States, Germany, and Scandinavia.You can buy single copies of at good
newsstands throughout Bulgariaand on board the planes of AIR LAZUR.
In Sofia, you can also get at the Red HouseCulture and Debate Centre, at the Greenwich Book Center,
Sofia, and at other good book and music stores,or order it at www.store.bg
is at the Goethe Institute and theTourist Information Centre, Sofia.
In addition, is being distributed at thefollowing fine establishments
Arena di Serdica, SofiaBest Western Hotel EXPO, Sofia
Bistro L'Etranger, SofiaBistro Orisha, Sofia
Boutique Hotel Crystal Palace, SofiaBritish-Bulgarian Information and Language Centre, Sofia
Business Park Sofia, SofiaCheckpoint Charlie Restaurant, Sofia
Costa Coffee, Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv and BurgasDowntown Hotel, Sofia
First Investment Bank, SofiaGalateia Clinic, Sofia
Grand Hotel Sofia, SofiaInterhotel Bulgaria, Burgas
International Women's Club-SofiaJ.J. Murphy's, Sofia
Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, BanskoKempinski Hotel Zografski, SofiaMaxido Shop, hotel Hilton, Sofia
Motto Bar & Club, SofiaPark Hotel Sankt Peterburg, Plovdiv
Platinum Health Club, Sofia
Plaza Hotel, VarnaPrincess Hotel, SofiaRadisson SAS Grand Hotel, Sofia
Regus Business Center, SofiaResidence Exclusive Club, Sofia
Sense Hotel, SofiaSheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan, Sofia
Spaghetti Kitchen, SofiaStilist Kapanov Hairdresser's, Sofia
Toni Merdjanov Beauty Studio, SofiaUniCredit Bulbank, Sofia
and many others throughout the country.
Can't find your ?
Drop us a line at [email protected],
stating where in Bulgaria you are, and we will make
sure your local newsstands are properly supplied.
CHECK YOUR ANSWERS ON P126
Platinum Business Center
Sofia,26-30 Bacho Kiro Str
Phones: 02/481 0178; 02/983 2473
www.platinumhealthclub.bg
BOUTIQUE FITNESS ANDSPA CLUB IN THE CITYCENTER OF SOFIA
Massages
Luxurious atmosphere
WE MAKE OUR CLIENTS FEEL SPECIAL!
Steam bath,sauna and contrast pool
Modern equipment
-
8/9/2019 VB89
9/69
12 13
Speculating on ethnic hatredis Balkan game with fire
by Anthony Georgieff
The "proverbial" tolerance of Bulgarians,which several post-Communist governments
have promoted as a selling tool for the countryand as a means to pump up self-confidence in itscitizens, is becoming a think of the past. Bulgariain is largely a country of oppositions:Bulgarians against Turks, Bulgarian citizensagainst non-Bulgarians; "ethnic" Bulgariansagainst non-ethnics; "Communists" againstnon-Communists; supporters of the governmentagainst protestors against it; straights againstgays; Ataka versus the Bulgarian NationalSalvation Front; everyone who is not in theBulgarian Socialist Party against the DPS; and soon and so forth. Once again in Bulgarian historyit is us against "them." There is nothing wrong
with oppositions as such as they usually are a partand parcel of the normal democratic process. Thetrouble with Bulgaria is that many involved in adebate on significant social and political issues
tend to dismiss their opponents because of whothey are rather than what they do and what theystand up for. Intolerance to anyone else's opinionis becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Events in recent months have provided plentyof ground for such depressing thoughts. Thearrival of a limited number of Syrian refugees inlate was greatly overexposed by the media
with obvious alarmist undertones. As a result, anextremist organisation in Sofia started sendingout "civic patrols" to check the documentsof passers-by who did not look sufficiently
in Turkish? On the other hand, who would bethreatened if there was? It all comes down to
politicians on all sides, including the Turkish-dominated DPS, fostering suspicion rather thantrust between large groups of Bulgarian citizens.
Interethnic relations in Bulgaria are at an alltime low, worse than even in the s, the timeof the Communist-organised excesses againstthe country's Turkish minority. According toAntonina Zhelyazkova, the director of theInternational Centre for Interethnic Studiesin Sofia, the reasons are purely political. DrZhelyazkova has recently been quoted by
Bulgarian National Radio as saying the variousgroups in Bulgarian society have encapsulatedthemselves more than during the sunset days ofCommunism when there was at least a commoncause.
The climate of intolerance does not onlyconcern groups "patrolling" or throwing stonesin the streets. It entails academic circles as well,mainly those dealing with history. Attemptsto conduct a balanced debate on those parts ofBulgaria's history the overwhelming majorityof Bulgarians take for granted two examplesbeing the five centuries of Ottoman rule andthe rescue of Bulgarian Jews during the Second
World War are snubbed at at best or vilified as"provocations" and "threats to nationals security"at worst.
From one standpoint the situation in Bulgaria
in can be thought about as being literary.Mark Twain famously described "patriot" asa person "who can holler the loudest withoutknowing what he is hollering about. But another
writer who worked in a lot more periloustimes than Twain came to a much less jollyconclusion: Being tolerant to intolerance is acrime Thomas Mann. No one can compareTwain with Mann, but the choice in Bulgaria isquite real.
Great choice of regular and low cost airlines
Exclusive hotel deals
Whether prepaid or pay upon arrivalSixt has the best service and prices!
Priority Club Service
Get up to 10% discount on your bookings
Bulgarian. The response of the authorities, whoare the ones exclusively responsible for checkinganyone's ID in this country, was slow and not
particularly spectacular. To put it in another way,the fact that someone had the "civic courage"to organise "patrols" in this way outshone, in
publicity terms, the government and its police.One example of the kind of demagoguery
being played around with is a pronouncementby former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, whostill vies to get more airtime. Borisov warnedthe Turkish-dominated DPS not to "play withthe ethic card." He was speaking on the occasion
of an assault against the Dzhumaya mosqueperpetrated by football fans who threw stonesand broke windows in downtown Plovdiv. Inactual fact, it is difficult to imagine how theDPS could line up football fans from StaraZagora to come to Plovdiv and throw stonesat a Muslim shrine, and then have Bulgarianschoolchildren recite patriotic poems in front ofthe Turkish consulate in Bulgaria's second cit y.
Then comes the recent decision to bancanvassing in "languages other than Bulgarian"ahead of the European elections scheduledfor May. No, no one wants to ban Englishfrom the streets of Bulgaria. The move isdirected specifically at the mother tongue ofthe Bulgaria's largest ethnic minority, Turkish.Reminiscent of the s, when speaking ofTurkish was banned and anyone caught doing
so could be fined, the Bulgarian parliamentagreed to outlaw Turkish when used inelectioneering. On this issue, of course, thereare fine details. The kind of Turkish spokenby an ageing segment of the indigenous ethnicTurks in Bulgaria is archaic and cannot bereadily understood in neighbouring Turkey.Younger Turks in Bulgaria are largely integratedand would speak Turkish mainly with theirgrandparents. The last time Turkish languagetextbooks were published in Bulgaria was in.... Why would there be a need to electioneer
-
8/9/2019 VB89
10/69
14 15
EU funds reconstruction of historic sites,often with dubious authenticity
by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff
In the s, Bulgariawitnesses something itstopped seeing in the MiddleAges. Here and there, in andaround cities and villages,fortresses are rising, built fromscratch. High walls adornthe Trapezitsa Hill in VelikoTarnovo, and the previouslyunheard-of village of Belchinnear Samokov, has got its ownfortress with walls and turrets,
with an entire "medieval"church thrown in as a bonus.
The reason behind thehectic fort-building is nota foreign invasion or fear ofadvancing refugees. It is a
programme of the CultureMinistry, funded with EUmoney through the RegionalDevelopment OperationalProgramme. Its official nameis Support for Monumentsof Culture With Nationaland World Significance,Contributing for the StableDevelopment of Tourism.
Since , it has pouredabout million leva into the
projects of municipalitiesall over Bulgaria.
Bulgaria's rich historicalheritage has been in dire needof some investment for ages.Poor tourist infrastructureand an endemic lack ofsignage have devalued theexperience of discovering thesites of Bulgaria's history forfar too long.
There is also the problemof the ruins themselves. Overthe centuries, Bulgaria wasdotted with rich cities andmighty fortresses, ornatechurches and temples, bustling
with life. Wars, destruction,treasure-hunting, laterbuildings and the habit oflater generations to reusestones and bricks from olderconstructions have led tothe disappearance of muchof this. The ruins of bygonecenturies are now mostly
of interest to historians, asscientific importance doesnot always equate with visualattractiveness.
Many ruins were conservedduring Communism, buteconomic hardship in thelate s-early s put anend to this. Lack of propercare from the state has alsocontributed to the poorcondition of many historicalsites and there are places,
particularly excavated andabandoned Thracian burialmounds, where conservationis crucial for the survival of thesites.
For the ordinary tourist,however, this is of littleinterest. When you visita place, you want to seesomething more than theremains of few low butcarefully preserved walls . You
want to have your picturetaken against the backdrop ofa high fort, or a strategic tower
or an ancient amphitheatre.You want, too, somethingto help you re-imagine theglorious past of the place. So,in Bulgaria, building of "new"ruins is seen as the main wayto "translate" a historical sitefor the ordinary visitor.
Bulgaria is not the onlycountry trying to solve theconflict between preservingthe authenticity and scientific
value of a historical site on the
one hand, and making it morealluring to a broader audienceby rebuilding old walls, towersand palaces, on the other.
In , the InternationalCongress of Architects andTechnicians of HistoricMonuments in Venice tried
to solve what in essence isa philosophical question.The result was the VeniceCharter, which stipulatesthe basic principles and rulesof restoration of historicalremains. According to it, theauthenticity of a monument is
paramount. All reconstructionshould be clearly labeled, andhas to be done with materialsas close to the original as
possible, and designed after
the original appearance of themonument. These principleswere reaffirmed in ,in the Nara Document ofUNSECO's World HeritageCommittee.
Bulgaria has for longhad issues following these
principles. In the case of itsmonuments visual, writtenor oral evidence of how this
particular church or thatparticular fortress looked amillennium ago is typicallyscarce or non-existent.Architects and restorers haveto rely on artefacts found in
situand on deduction orimagination. If you have twobuildings from the same
period and one of them is
better preserved, its design isapplied to the reconstructionof the building in the worsecondition. There is somelogic to this. Probably the firstexample of its application isthe so-calle d Baldwin Toweron Tsarevets Hill, the heart
SPAGGO & FUNNY
Restaurant with a terrace
Movie nights
Lunch menus
Catering
Boutique cakes and desserts
Children's restaurant
Children's academy for little cooks
Children games and entertainment
Serdica Center, 48 Sitnyakovo Blvd, floor 1
for reservations: +359 886 040 844
for recommendations: + 359 888 662 206
12 Nikola Obrazopisov St
for reservations: +359 888 441 595
for recommendations: + 359 888 662 206www.spaggo.com
SPAGGO LIMITED
An elegant business restaurant with summer
garden and lunch menu in the weekdays,
600 m away from Kempinski Hotel Zografski.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
11/69
16 17
of medieval Tarnovo. Only the foundationsof the tower were originally preserved, but inthe s it was rebuilt after the design of thebetter preserved Cherven fortress, near Ruse.
More reconstruction and rebuildingfollowed in the late s and the s,
when Bulgaria celebrate d with great pompand circumstance the , anniversary ofits founding. Tsarevets Hill got "properruins," with fortress walls and towers, anda whole cathedral was built from scratch.Its interior was painted with expressionistmurals glorifying... Communism. So much
for authenticity.In the same period, buildings rose in theold capitals of Pliska and Preslav, too. Theeconomic difficulties in the sunset years ofCommunism, its collapse and the first decadesof transition towards democracy terminatedfurther reconstruction. There was hardly anymoney for archaeological research.
Yet, some work was done. In , for the,th anniversary of the proclamation ofPreslav as the capital of Bulgaria, the onceglorious Golden Basilica was reconstructed.In the mid-s, the ancient wall of Sozopol
was heavily "reconstructed," too.The EU-funded programme, however,
elevated this to a whole new level.In fact, a lot of important remedial work
was funded by it. Many sites, like the Roman
city of Nicopolis ad Istrum and the V illaArmira near Ivaylovgrad received propertourist infrastructure and much neededconservation. The crumbling Ottoman Cross-Shaped Barracks in Vidin were renovated andconserved. It is not longer that dangerous to
walk around the precipitous Asenova Fortress,near Asenovgrad, and the replica of a Romanship and a wooden tower, along with provisionfor experimental archaeology at SexagintaPrista, the Roman fortress near Ruse, make thesite more interesting.
The list of positive changes includeobligatory excavations before the actualreconstruction, the creation of exhibitionspaces in situand of internet pages, and theorganisation of historical re-enactments from battles to religious rituals to events ofeveryday life. All these have brought historycloser to the public without changing the faceof the historical monuments.
Some of the improvements instituted underthe EU-funded programme, however, are atleast dubious. The crude wooden parapet ofthe new path leading to the late-Antiquity
Red Basilica near Perushtitsa, for example, isby any standard an eyesore.Most controversial are the projects where
new buildings rise on the foundations ofolder ones, as already completed projectsdemonstrate. Some examples are the late-Roman fortress near the village of Belchinand the medieval Krakra Fortress in Pernik.
Many archaeologists and the general publicagree that the reconstruction of the fortressand church near Belchin was a success. In, the project even won the Building of theYear Award for conservation and restorationof cultural and historical heritage together
with the Small Basilica museum in Plovdiv.However, the use of concrete in the
reconstruction at Belchin has nothing to dowith the methods used , years ago. The
complete rebuilding of a whole church is alsoquestionable.The reconstruction of the Krakra Fortress
in Pernik attracted more outrage. Perchedon a plateau, the fortress was a place offierce Bulgarian opposition against theByzantines at the end of the th Century.Like everywhere else, some walls and otherstructures were preserved, but for decadesthe ruins were seen more as a nice place fora stroll rather than an awe-inspiring piece ofhistory. The municipality began wondering
Beauty Center
56 Bigla st.Phone:02 962 1415
GSM:+359 888 621 410 | +359 892 203 495Facebook:Faceandbodyzone Bigla
www.faceandbodyzone.eu
Sofia, Lozenets, 58 Bigla St; phone: 0897 961 950www.cococafe.eu
Quality drinks are the foundation of this elegant
venue whether for business meetings or a casual chat
with friends, Coco Caf can suggest the appropriate
beverage from an extensive menu. High-quality coffee,
non-alcoholic and champagne cocktails, health drinks,
delicious shots and a wine menu with Bulgarian and
foreign vintages there is choice for every mood. Even
your sweet tooth is taken care of with exquisite cakes,
pastries, croissants, and ice-cream, all prepared by
authentic French recipes.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
12/69
18 19
, . " " -3, . 387, . 6, 24./: 02 927 60 90 . 0888 319 660
Flametech is an exclusive representative of the Italian companySafety HI-TECH S.r.l.in designing, del ivering and reloading of gaseous
fire extinguishing systems with NAF S 125 and NAF S 227
Minimum fire damage
Maximum speed of
extinguishment
Maximum safety for the
environment
Maximum cost/benefit ratio
Minimum maintenance costs
Minimum space occupied
Minimum system weight
-
/
Sofia, Tsaritsa Yoanna BlvdLyulin-3, block 387, floor 6, offi ce 24phone/fax: 02 927 60 90mobille: 0888 319 660
NAF S 125 NAF S 227
Fire extinguishingsystems withNAF S 125 and NAF S 227 The Future Today
FLAMETECHFIRE SAFETY
how to change this and in
they unveiled the results oftheir labours.
On the stone walls ofthe fortress now rises aconstruction of steel and
plastic. In the daytimeit represents how thefortification looked andby night, the "artisticallyilluminated" plastic panelslook like shields. Or at leastthat was the idea. The result is
Sozopol before it got its new
"ruin" (above) and now
Some EU-backedrestoration projects
An Ottoman and a Roman fortress inBelogradchikStorgozia ancient fortress in PlevenAncient city of Novae, near SvishtovHotalich fortress, near SevlievoTransmariska ancient fortress, near TutrakanAbritus archaeological reserve, RazgradVeliki Preslav archaeological reser veYaylata archaeological reserve
Late-Antiquity and medieval fortressDionisopolis, in BalchikSt Atanas Cape fortressAncient city of Deultum, near BurgasLate-Antiquity and medieval fortress Tuida, nearSlivenRoman villa Armira, near IvaylovgradMomchil's Fortress, near KardzhaliThe ancient city of HissarPeristera fortress, near PeshteraLate-Roman fortress at Trayanovi Vrata Pass, nearIhtimanNicopolis ad Nestum Roman city, near GotseDelchevLate-Roman fortress near Belchin, near SamokovKrakra fortress, in Pernik
done not with state-controlled EU money but
with independent foreign funding.In , the ancient stadium of Plovdiv was
reconstructed with Norwegian funding andin , the mosaics of the Small Basilica inPlovdiv were restored and exhibited with thefinancial help of the America for BulgariaFoundation. Both projects combine the
preser ved remain s of the or iginal an cientstructure with modernistic architecture andmaterials to much more pleasing effectthan the fake walls of the new Bulgarianfortresses.
pure kitsch. People comparedthe new Krakra Fortress tothe remains of some cheapmovie prop and dubbed itPernikland.
The mayor of Pernik,Rositsa Yanakieva, defendedthe project and said thatthe municipality nevermeant to achieve a faithfulreconstruction, but rathercreate a "tourist attraction."The project was also given the
green light by the NationalInstitute for CulturalHeritage, the state watchdogthat sanctions all activity onhistorical sites.
The "reconstructed"fortress in Sozopol receiveda lot more criticism. In ,the Bulgarian committeeof ICOMOS, or theInternational Council onMonuments and Sites,included the "new" wallsin Sozopol in its list ofcultural heritage in danger.The complete overbuildingof the wall has destroyedits authenticity and
reinforcement works havedamaged the sea coast. Allof this (and much more) hasbeen in breach with the VeniceCharter, the Nara Documentand the International Charterfor Cultural Tourism.
Significantly, the projects torestore and provide safe accessto sites of cultural heritage
which have been almostunanimously praised were
-
8/9/2019 VB89
13/69
20 21
interview and photography by Anthony Georgieff
As we sit down for someearly morning tea in thesplendid British residencein Central Sofia on anovercast winter day mythoughts jump back to myfirst encounter with JonathanAllen, the current Britishambassador to Bulgaria. Ittook place a little over two
years ago. Jonathan hadjust had his car broken intoin Plovdiv and had had todeal with Bulgarian policeand insurance. Not a verypleasant experience, I wouldhave thought, but it in noway cast a shadow over hisattitudes to Bulgaria andthe Bulgarians. In the yearsto follow Jonathan wouldbe sometimes unusually
enthusiastic about thiscountry and its people,always trying to look atrealities here from the brightside and always in search ofthat tiny silver lining thatevery cloud over the Balkanshas. Two years is not a verylong time to come to knowa country like Bulgaria,
which (in)famously pridesitself on its impenetrabilityto foreigners, but then it isnot very short either. A lotof things have happenedin Bulgarian politics, theeconomy and social lifesince the Allens first arrived,and now, sipping my cupof what is arguably the bestbrewed tea in town, I wantto hear some summing-up. Is
Bulgaria a better place nowthan it was two years ago?
Economically, Bulgariahas not changed much. Idon't know if that's a greatsurprise as Bulgaria reliesenormously on its exportsto the eurozone as doesin fact the UK. The bulkof Bulgaria's growth and
economic prospects dependon confidence in the eurozonemarkets. Some things aroundthe margins are done very
well. One example is the flattax rate, which works very
well. Bulgaria does workhard to ensure any investorgets all the permission theyneed. The infrastructure isimproving. You can say what
you like about Boyko, but the
-
8/9/2019 VB89
14/69
22 23
man liked a bulldozer and gotmany things done.
There are some positives,and there are some negatives.The main negatives would be
around the state of the judicialsystem.To me, that's economics
I know many Bulgarianswould speak of the judiciary,law-and-order and so on asbeing related to politics, butI disagree. Can a Britishcompany come here inconfidence and know that ifit falls out with a Bulgarian
partner it will be fullyprotected in the courts, getspeedy justice and a sensibledecision?
No. The Bulgarian systemcannot guarantee that. Itmight. Probably by the time
you get to third instance itwill be OK, but that's a longway to go and many things tojump through. I think accessto consistently high quality
justice is a major problemhere.
The other big thing is publicprocurement. It is difficult topersuade foreign companiesto come and bid for funds andtenders in Bulgaria because
they know and we know that percent of all public
procurement ends up with justone company bidding itheronly one company starts or
only one company finishes.That's crazy. The incumbentDeputy Prime MinisterDaniela Bobeva has putforward what I think is a quitesensible package to changethat but, sadly, parliament has
voted out most aspects thatwould have had an impacton corruption. This is a greatshame.
So, the big picture in theeconomy is that Bulgariahas to wait for regainedconfidence in the bigEuropean markets. At themargins, there is a lot thatstill has to be done locally.
Cleaning up procurement,sorting out the judiciary,setting up commercial courtsthat can administer justiceswiftly will make a hugedifference.
Politically, in the last twoyears the party system hasdeclined. It has faced a hugechallenge with two sets of
protests in . Frankly,none of the political parties
have responded properly. Tome, the political story of the
past two years is positive asit involves civil society andcitizens trying to make their
voices heard. There is nodoubt that civil society in had the politicians onthe run. You see that now. Yousee now ministers and MPscomplaining privately that
you cannot do anything anymore because you are beingscrutinised all the time. That'sfantastic! That's how it shouldbe! A real challenge for is
whether the determination ofcivil society can be sustained.An insistent, demanding,intrusive, loud and expectantcivil society is a fantastic thingfor a democracy to have.
The political parties, as Isaid, have disappointed. So farthey have reacted by hopingthe pressure will go awayand they can go on actingas they have always acted. Ihave talked to the leadershipsof GERB, BSP and DPS as
well as to a number of partiesthat have no representationin parliament, inquiring howthis message that's come fromthe streets will be listened to
Visiting the vaults of the Museum
for History of Sofia
-
8/9/2019 VB89
15/69
24
and acted upon by Bulgaria'spoliticians, elected and paidby the citizens to representthem. What I find reallyinteresting is that the response
tends to be that Bulgaria haschanged, but there is no needfor us to change: we will carryon as before.
Then of course everyonetends to blame everyone else.Each political party says that
whoever is against it is paid bysomeone else, which I find anunlikely event.
I think it is a great shamethat none of the three big
political parties show anydesire to change.
Do you think that thecurrent situation presages thedisintegration of the politicalsystem in Bulgaria?
I don't know. You have twopolitical parties, the BSP andthe DPS, that you think willsurvive forever. Outside ofthese two parties there hasbeen a shifting constellation as
people try to find alternatives.It will be interesting to see
what happens with GERB,which is the largest party inparliament at the moment, butI do not see any new policies
there and I am not sure whatGERB stands for. GERB havebeen out of power for ninemonths. Obviously, they'vegone away and thought very
carefully about what theiroffer is to the Bulgarian
people. But I do not knowwhat it is.
My impression is that thereis a significant proportionof the Bulgarian people whofeel they do not have proper
political representation. Iknow it's difficult to set upnew political parties, but thefact that a lot of people do not
vote or vote for parties thatfail to make it into parliamentdoes create room for new
political entities to emerge.There are some things that
have happened here that I
can't understand. Let me tellyou one very clear examplewhich brought everyone tothe streets last year and whichthe government is fed up withambassadors talking about.This is the appointment ofDelyan Peevski to be thehead of a super powerfulsecurity agency to combatorganised crime and run theentire internal intelligence
service. This is probablythe most sensitive security
position in the country infact many other countriesseparate these offices to avoid
any one agency becomingtoo powerful. The problem
with Peevski's appointmentis that no one can explain it.That seems a very odd thing.Here is a country which isa member of the EU and
which has a cooperationand verification mechanismbecause there are still concernsabout it. It is a country which,unlike Romania which alsohas a CVM, has a specificbenchmark against organisedcrime. The governmentdecides to create a superagency and in minutesone Friday morning last year,
without any discussion andany explanation of the merits,background or experiencethat the candidate has, it
puts forward someone who,I think, is pretty commonlyaccepted to be a controversialfigure in Bulgaria. Why?
The problem that I have isthat no one can explain why.
If you can't get anexplanation for why, then
1700 Sofia, zh.k. "Lozenetz", 1, "Ekaterina Nencheva" str., tel. /+359 2/ 979 19 49, 978 64 55,
GSM: /+359/ 886 510 510, e-mail: offi ce@british schoolbg.com www. britishsc hoolbg.com
British School of Sofia-The choice for your childs success
Jonathan Allen,
the British Am-
bassador, wasguest of honour
at the celebra-
tions, markingthe first day
of school this
year, where he
passed on hisbest wishes to everyone. The presence of the British Ambas-
sador at the ceremony is a further affi rmation and recogni-
tion of our school. We are one of the British Schools beyondthe shores of the United Kingdom, which uses the British ed-
ucational model and provides British certificates for all levels
of education. The British School of Sofia is par t of the Britisheducational system and its certificates are equivalent to the
certificates provided by all British schools. They are the same
regardless of where the pupils study.
Could you tell us more about the school?
The British School of Sofia forms an e ntire course of ed-
ucation and spreads throughout the years of study. Wehave a British Kindergarten for children between the ages
of 3 and 5. This is the first step in the complete educational
model. Children who join the school at nursery level fol-
low a programme which prepares them for the ongoing
successful British education. Our primary school is for chil-
dren between the ages of 6 and 11. The Secondary schoolis for children between 12 and 16. Our college level stu-
dents are 16 to 18 years old. The British educational model
has four Key Stages and at the end of each Key Stage thestudents take the following exams: Primary Checkpoint,
Secondary 1 Checkpoint, Secondary 2 IGCSE and Ad-
vanced levels.
What did provoke you to establish British School of
Sofia?
In this high-tech century, education is the hidden
treasure that ensures success in the future realisation
of children in the society . There is a direct correlationbetween level of education and success in the future.
British School of Sofia appeared in Bulgaria in response
to the strong need for quality education, which creates
and guarantees competitive young people.
We hope that the students will leave our school confi-
dent and caring young people, with a strong awarenessof their duty to society. They will be able to make positive
life choices, be keen to take on new challenges and want
to play an active role in shaping the future.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
16/69
26 27
you start counting on your ownexplanations. And none of theexplanations that you come up
with are terribly positive.I mentioned before the
Procurement Bill. DeputyPrime Minister Bobeva gotup and produced a numberof very interesting ideas totake away some of the powerinvested in non-procurementspecialists and do away withthe group of people aroundcertain municipalities whoare always selected to decideand perhaps are more opento influence. All of that wasremoved by parliament. Why
would parliament want toremove aspects that wouldmake public procurementbetter in Bulgaria? Again,there is no explanation. No
one in parliament has stoodup and said this is why we'vedone this.
When you see that, youworry.
I hear you speak acompletely differentlanguage from either thepeople in the street or thepoliticians in Bulgaria.Throughout theprotestors asked a very
different question. Theywanted to knowwhoproposed Peevski, not why and consequently that's thequestion the politicians
refused to answer. No oneseemed to be interested inthe why.
No one should hold Bulgariato a higher standard than isreasonable or fair. Bulgaria isan young democracy. We can'texpect Bulgaria in yearsto have totally transformeditself into the Switzerland ofSoutheast Europe. But we canexpect it to keep on askingquestions of those who aresupposed to represent itscitizens.
What are the moralimplications of this?
The only way to make a
change is to believe in change.What is your worst-case
and best-case scenario forBulgaria in the near future?
I think it would be verybad news for Bulgaria if theeurozone went back intodecline. I think Bulgaria has
weathered the storm witha gradual decline in livingstandards. Its business needsa period of growth even if it is
more modest than the s.If I were Bulgaria's investmentsminister I would be askingmany questions around the
points I mentioned before: the
rule of law and judicial reform.So, the worst case scenariowould be an economic declinein the eurozone marketscoupled with continuing
political instability athome political partiesnot responding to what theelectorate wants and theelectorate being unable to
provide an alternative to theestablished political parties.That would be risky, in anydemocracy, because it allows
populists on either end ofthe spectrum a lot of airtimeand may create a feeling ofhopelessness.
The best-case...Elections in May?
Well, I am not gong tosay when there should bean election as long as thisgovernment is in power.But my best-case scenario
would be economic growthand people regaining theirconfidence. That would entaila response by the political
parties that would make
Bulgarians believe in politicsas a solution rather than a
problem to be ignored. Akey part of that is what theopposition do. In theory,
oppositions especially ifthey've been in government think, renew, change thingsand come with a new offer. InBulgaria, that doesn't seem tobe there.
In your capacity asambassador you arepresumably talking withall the political parties inparliament. Are you alsotalking with Ataka?
Like pretty much everyEU government we do nothave any formal contacts
with Ataka. It is not possiblefor us given the values thatAtaka hold and some of the
things they have chosen todo and say. That said, wetotally respect that Bulgarianshave democratically electedthat party into parliament.
We are not trying to criticiseBulgarians or pretend thathasn't happened, b ut someof the values and policies ofAtaka make it impossible forus to have a close contact withthem.
Are Bulgarian newspapersto be believed that there isa concerted anti-Bulgarian"campaign" in the UK overthe suspected influx of
Bulgarian immigrants?I don't think there is an
organised campaign againstanyone. EU migration tothe UK has been a growingissue for some time. A lotof British people have very
positive sentiments aboutthe Bulgarians as so many
visit and have homes here.Anybody who's spent anytime in the UK knows that wehave very free and very robustmedia. That's the way it is.Many British politicians canfeel very bruised when theyget involved with the Britishmedia.
The important thing is whatthe government does. Wecan't control the me dia rights,but we can control what wedo and the way we conductourselves. Last year PrimeMinister David Cameron gavea speech in which he madeit very clear that the labourmarket controls would lift.The British parliament didnot pass any measures that
the controls would stay. Thecontrols did lift in compliance
with EU law. But the primeminister said he would bringchanges because of concerns
over access to the welfaresystem. That comes from thefact that our benefits systemis universal it does not relyon contributions. Our healthservice is here for everybo dy.
We do not stop people forcredit cards on their way tohospitals. We treat them first.This is a hugely important
principle for the Britishpeople. There is concernabout benefits and the rules
will be tightened up on a non-discriminatory basis.
All the measures that wehave introduced are, firstly,less stringent than in Bulgaria.And secondly, they apply toeveryone, including Brits.If you have a British citizenliving in Haskovo, they have to
wait for three months beforethey are entitled for benefits inthe UK. It's just the same forthem.
You can't generalise eitherway, but Bulgarians for themost part work hard, pay taxesand are valued employees.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
17/69
28
Knowing local peculiarities is crucial when
expanding to new markets and since setting footin Bulgaria in , CMS Cameron McKennaLLP law firm has been an expert worth listeningto. Its Sofia office employs over local lawyersand is a branch of broader internationalnetwork. "We are a local firm that knows themarket very well and works internationally,and we can help clients invest in Bulgaria or torealise on their investments when it is time toexit," says David Butts, Office Managing Partner.A Canadian living in Bulgaria since , MrButts has considerable experience in corporateand commercial law with an emphasis onmergers and acquisitions, intellectual property
protection and technology licensing, and hassignificant experience in the real estate sector.
In the first days of January, CMS published itsthird annual report on mergers and acquisitions,
Emerging Europe: M&A Report /, ahandbook to all interested in having a true
picture on the business climate in countriesin Central and Eastern Europe. The data iscompiled from official and company sources.
Why is the survey important?Our clients have told us that it gives them a
real-time overview of what's happening. Thereport is published in January and that meansthat it contains data as recent as the previousDecember. By doing so, we achieve relevanceand timeliness. And we are not afraid to go on
record predicting where we think the market is
going. Most of the time we get it right.What are the main conclusions for Bulgaria
in ?Bulgaria witnessed exits by international
investors and more acquisitions by high-networthindividuals or local business. However, we sawnotable exceptions like the acquisition of Globulby Telenor. There is also a "wait and see" attitudeon what's going on politically. I am cautiouslyoptimistic, but if you don't have political stability,money will eventually go elsewhere. On the
positive side, the government is saying the rightthings about making it easier to do business inBulgaria. Now we just have to see whether it willset this in action.
What are Bulgaria's strongest points as aplace for investment?
Its location and its membership in theEU these things opens Bulgaria to markets itotherwise won't have. And, unfortunately, itsdepressed valuations.
How do you see Bulgaria in ? is too short term, but I think it will
continue struggling with political uncertainty.The potential upside is more in mid to longterm. Logistics, infrastructure and access toEU funds are all very important for Bulgaria.If Bulgaria concentrates on improving itsinfrastructure, then the market will improve as
well.
Sofia, Knyaz Alexander I Battenberg St, f loor | phone: + | fax : + | sofia@cms -rrh.com | www.cmslegal.com
David Butts, Managing Partner at theBulgarian branch of CMS Cameron
McKenna LLP, explains the businessclimate in the country
In , the British Embassy marks the centenary of its residence, one of the mosticonic buildings in Central Sofia. To celebrate the occasion, the embassy is launchinga series of events to mark the strong connections between Britain and Bulgaria.The celebrations will go on throughout and explore and further develop thetrade and business opportunities between the two countries, as well as adding to theunderstanding of the common historical, cultural and heritage connections between
the British and Bulgarian people.One of the main elements of the celebrations is the Years UK in BG blog. It will
feature memories from British nationals who have lived or are still living in Bulgaria.The personal stories will help build a human picture of the way British people haveseen and experienced Bulgaria. The embassy would like to hear from them. Perhaps
why and how they fell in love with the country, and what cultural differences theyhave come across. The embassy wants their funny and happy stories, but also their sadstories. It can be anything from a single memory to a picture or a video that capturesexperiences of Bulgaria to the thing they will miss most if they leave one day. Evenbetter if it is accompanied by a picture of Bulgaria that illustrates stories and feelingsabout the country.
Vagabond, Bulgaria's English Magazine, is very happy to cooperate in this greatinitiative and will have the best stories as well as the best photos published in both the
print and the electronic versions of the magazine on a monthly basis. If you are sendingpictures, please bear in mind that we will need high resolution images fit for print.
Those interested in sharing their most memorable moments from Bulgaria shouldemail them to [email protected].
DragomirUshev
29
-
8/9/2019 VB89
18/69
30 31
The question "What to do on St Valentine's Day?" can be frustrating.
For those in a relationship, there is the what-to-buy-this-year horror,while for some singles there is the feeling of loneliness. The anti-globalists become incensed at the heart-shaped mania that is takingover the world and the cynics point to the billions of dollars generatedby the sales of romantic lingerie, chocolate and holidays. It is hardto deny that most of the red or pink trivia sold everywhere before February plus the music on the radio and the movies on the TV areoutrageously kitschy.
Bulgaria, predominantly an Eastern-Orthodox nation, is not sparedthe Catholic St Valentine's craze. Since the fall of Communism andthe rise of global popular culture, young Bulgarians have becomeinfatuated with it.
However, even if you have trouble enduring St Valentine's Day,you should still spend it in Bulgaria. Here, on February anotherand more traditional saint has been held in high esteem not only forcenturies, but for millennia.
A thinly Christianised version of the old Thracian deity known asDionysus, St Trifon Zarezan is the patron of vines, wine and publicans.
His celebration is extremely popular and is a far cry from the saccharineSt Valentine's Day.
St Trifon was popular in the olden days, when most Bulgarians livedin villages and many townsfolk still owned vineyards. In the days beforereadily available money or shops, self-sufficiency was crucial for survivaland so it was vital to pay your respects to St Trifon. On his feast day the
village men would go to the vineyards, ritually prune the vines and, afterthe blessing of the priest, they would choose the best winemaker amongthem, proclaim him a king and crown him with a wreath of vines.Then they would drink and go to the king's home for a feast and moredrinking. On their way, they would indulge in all sorts of innuendoestowards any (giggling) woman they might meet on the street.
by Violeta Rozova; photography by BTA
In Bulgaria, rifon Zarezanand St Valentine vie for a single day
-
8/9/2019 VB89
19/69
32
The forced urbanisation during Communism increased the numberof city dwellers from percent of the population in to percentin the s. Official atheism also removed any trace of religion from StTrifon's Day, turning it into the sterile Day of the Winemakers.
Today, few villages have enough men of active age to revive thedrunken celebration of former times to its past glory. For obviousreasons, the owners of wineries celebrate, too, but put the stress on theritual pruning and the priestly blessing, omitting obscenities altogether.Moreover, the whitewashed celebrations of today take place on February the official feast of St Trifon after the Bulgarian EasternOrthodox Church adopted the Gregorian calendar for the immovable
feasts, in .Despite changes in calendar and lifestyle, however, the stubbornurban Bulgarian stuck with celebrating St Trifon on February. Onthat day, people just meet friends and get drunk with wine or whateveralcohol they prefer. Twisted and turned, the old tradition is alive andeveryone is also still intrigued with the Freudian legend of how StTrifon was nicknamed Zarezan, or The Cut-one.
St Trifon, the story goes, was a notorious vine-grower and generallout, and also the brother of the Virgin Mary. One day, while St Trifon
was pruning his vines, his sister passed by, carrying Baby Jesus. St Trifoncouldn't resist mocking her about her "bastard." Enraged, the VirginMary stormed off to St Trifon's house and cried to his wife: "Run! Runto the vineyard as Trifon has cut his nose off!" The panicked womanrushed to the vineyard only to see her husband pruning the vines and
probably whistling something under his intact nose. "Your sistersaid you had cut off your nose!," the wife cried. "How can you be sostupid? Here it is, on my face!," said St Trifon and pointed to his nose
with his pruning knife and unwittingly cut it off.For many modern Bulgarians, getting drunk on February in the
name of St Trifon is also a matter of patriotic duty, the epitome of the"we against those pesky Westerners" attitude.
Funnily enough, no one besides the clergy pays any attention to theoriginal St Trifon. He has nothing to do with his Bulgarian twin or withDionysus. St Trifon was a rd Century physician from Asia Minor who
was put to the sword by the Roman authorities for his firm belief in thethen-forbidden Christianity.
However, if you look close enough, there are similarities betweenCatholic St Valentine and Eastern Orthodox St Trifon. Both celebratethe spring-time rebirth of nature and, to a more symbolic extent, themadness induced by love and/or wine.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
20/69
34 35
Obviously, this is not a Paris,not even a Copenhagen, but if
you dare take your eyes off the
uneven pavements you will seevery interesting things. Strangefaces of allegories and mythiccreatures look down at you.Most of them date back to thefirst half of the th Century
when the city was on its way tobecome an European capital.Many, however, originate fromthe times of Communism and
promote its virtues and values.Some are sophisticated and some
are crude, some are elaborate andothers naive, some have beenrecently cleaned up while others
are falling apart.What they all have in common
is that they tell the story of thecity in an unorthodox way whichhas nothing to do with what y ourordinary tour guide says.
Once you've explored foryourselves you will come to therealisation that beauty, indeed, isin the details.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
WALL-TO-WALL POETRY EUROPE
UNITYIN DIVERSITY
LL
LL
U
U
I
II
I
: ,
by Stamen Manolov
High Beam is a series of artic les, initiated by Vagabond Magazine, with the generous support
of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, that aims to provide details and background of places,
cultural entities, events, personalities and facts of life that are sometimes difficult to understand
for the outsider in the Balkans. The ultimate aim is the preservation of Bulgaria's cultural heritage
including but not limited to archaeological, cultural and ethnic diversity.
Email your answers [email protected]
and you can win a copy of
Wall-to-Wall, Poetry of Europe,Vagabond's guide to the poetry
walls of Sofia.The winner will be
selected in a draw*.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
21/69
36
You know Sofia is now the capital of Bulgaria, but what about thepast? Indeed, Bulgaria's history is rich, glorious and traumatic enoughto have produced about a dozen capital cities.
From the founding of Bulgaria at the end of the th Century untilits fall under the Ottomans at the end of the th Century, with twocenturies of Byzantine rule in between, the Bulgarian rulers put a lotof effort into creating capital cities to match their political ambitions.That meant rivalling the splendour and the economic as well as
political importance of Constantinople, the capital of Bulgaria's arch-enemy, Byzantium.
In periods of prosperity and political stability for Bulgaria, acity would remain a capital for g enerations, growing in size andaccumulating wealth and people. The best examples are Pliska andTarnovo, both of whom were capitals for more than years. But
when Bulgaria was crumbling and threatened with invasion, the kingwould pack up his men and leave, settling his court in less refined butmore secure places where he would try to regroup.
Between and , when the Bulgaria of (mostly) King Samuilfought for its life with the Byzantium of Emperors John I Tzimiskesand Basil II, the Bulgarians changed capitals several times. The exactnumber of capital cities in this period is still disputed by historians.
Tink Sofia says it all?Tink again
'
by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff
-
8/9/2019 VB89
22/69
38 39
WHENWHERENortheastern BulgariaTHENAsparuh achieved his uneasy peace with the Byzantines
whereupon he chose the open plain as the best place for his capital,Pliska. The city spread over an area of , acres and saw rulersin its years as a capital. It was defended by several fortification
walls, providing shelter for the ordinary inhabitants, the nobles andthe ruler's inner circle, who lived in a spacious palace with centralheating and baths. The capital suffered great damage in , whenthe army of the Byzantine Emperor Nicephoros I pillaged it andmassacred the inhabitants, but the city was soon restored.NOWThroughout the centuries, much of the ruins of medieval
Pliska were lost as local people salvaged materials to build homes,and British engineers used them for the construction of the Ruse-Varna railway in the s. Pliska was discovered at the end theth Century. Its remains, however, were deemed too uninteresting formodern tourists and in the ss parts of the fortifications andthe Grand Basilica were rebuilt with questionable accuracy and results.
The place where the very first Bulgarian capital was is alsodebatable. When the horse-riding Proto-Bulgarians, led by KhanAsparuh, came to the Balkans they settled at a place called TheOnglos. Byzantine historians and archaeological research do notagree on where The Onglos was exactly, but today it is widelybelieved that it was somewhere in the vast Danube delta, withits ever-changing canals, waterways and islets. There, in , theBulgarians defeated the Byzantines and the peace treaty signed in
is the official beg inning of the Bulgarian state. The people ofAsparuh then crossed the Danube, settled in what is now north-eastBulgaria and made an alliance with the Slavs other newcomers whohad arrived a century earlier. In the centuries to follow, their state wasto become a political fixture in the region.
Following is a list of the most important capital cities of Bulgariabefore Sofia, in chronological order.
Partially restored remains of the
Big Basilica. When it was built in
875, it was among the grandest in
the Balkans
-
8/9/2019 VB89
23/69
40 41
WHENWHERENortheastern BulgariaTHENPreslav, at the foot of the Stara Planina, was chosen as a
capital in dramatic circumstances. After proclaiming Bulgaria aChristian state (), Prince Boris I withdrew from society, leavingthe power to his eldest son, Vladimir, in . Vladimir decided tobring back paganism. Enraged, Boris left his monastery, dethronedthe apostate and installed in his place another son, Byzantine-educated Simeon. In a symbolic breach with the pagan past, thecapital was moved to Preslav, where the ambitious Simeon turnedit into a gem of a city. Soon, however, the Byzantines started to
prevail in the century-long cat-and-mouse game with the Bulgarians.Preslav was sacked by the Russians and the Byzantines in and the north-east was lost. The centre of struggling Bulgaria moved
westwards.NOWPreslav's ruins became a museum ground in and have
since produced a wealth of artefacts, including an impressive ceramicicon of St Theodore Stratilatos and a gold treasure of about objects. As with Pliska, lack of spectacular ruins led to dubiousreconstructions and in recent years a mutra-esque polished blackmarble plaque of King Simeon appeared beside the yellow-paintedconcrete walls of the once marvellous Golden Church.
A column remaining from the
Throne Hall at Preslav
-
8/9/2019 VB89
24/69
The mosaics in the Small Basilica were made by local craftsmenwho used marble, red, black, green and yellow stone, and ceramic
fragments to create elaborate designs and images. These imagesalso had symbolical meanings and, if you know how to read them,the mosaics of the Small B asilica will share their secrets with you.
The stag represents the soul
of the Christian, striving for
faith and truth
WHENWHEREFormer Yugoslav republic of MacedoniaTHENIn the early s, the eastern parts of Bulgaria were already under
Byzantine rule. Western Bulgaria, however, was still alive and kicking and nurturing resistance, which was led by an aristocrat, Samuil. Hechose Skopje to be the capital of the weak King Roman. The city was
protected by its fortress and the mountains, but times were hard. In ,the Byzantines captured King Roman and as he had no heir, Samuil
proclaimed himself king and again moved the capital.NOWIn , Skopje became the capital of the Yugoslav Socialist
Republic of Macedonia and has been the capital of the independent statesince . In recent years the humble remains of the medieval fortress(Macedonians think of King Samuil as a Macedonian king) were heavilyrebuilt, although they are surpassed by the over-the-top monuments andneo-Baroque buildings in the centre of the city, dubbed Skopjeland.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
25/69
45
, ,
WHENWHEREGreece, former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and
AlbaniaTHENPrespa is not a city, but an area, including the mountainous
Prespa Lakes and the forbidding slopes of several high peaks, nowon the border of Gre ece, former Yugoslav republic of Macedoniaand Albania. It was the safe heaven which King Samuil wanted asa capital while trying to save Bulgaria. King Samuil himself diedthere, in , and was buried in the basilica of St Achilles island,in the Small Prespa Lake. By this time, however, he had alreadymoved his capital even farther from the Byzantines, in Ohrid onthe eponymous lake because of the security that the mountains
provided. After his death the city withstood a mere two years beforehis successor moved the capital in Bitola, in the mountains. It didn'tlast. In the city was subjugated by Emperor Basil II together
with the independence of Bulgaria.NOWDivided between three states that were no particularly
friendly to each other, Prespa was for long a no- go region. Now,it is an ideal destination for anyone seeking pristine nature, anundisturbed pelican colony, beautiful scenery and historicalmonuments. Both the Samuil family chapel in the village of AgiosGermanos, and Samuil's grave are on Greek territory.
The gem of Macedonia's tourist industry, Ohrid is arguably thecountry's most beautiful city. In it, the remains of the Samuil fortressand dozens of medieval churches are complemented by houses fromthe Ottoman period, the calm waters of the lake and the blue wall ofthe mountains. Bitola today is a major economic centre of the formerYugoslav republic of Macedonia, yet its main tourist attractions arefrom the Ottoman period.
The St John Kaneo church
overlooking Lake Ohrid was build
in the 13th Century
Previous spread: The medieval
fortress of Skopje before
restoration
-
8/9/2019 VB89
26/69
46 47
WHENWHERE Northern BulgariaTHENThe Byzantine rule ended in
with the rebellion of the AsenevtsiBrothers, Bulgarian aristocrats livingin a mighty fortress on the meandersof the Yantra River. They turned thisfortress, Tarnovo, into the capital of theirkingdom and, in a fashion already seenin Pliska and Preslav, tried to make it a
rival to Constantinople. To a point, theysucceeded. Beautiful churches rose inTarnovo, and the palace intrigues and themystic literature of the local school werein the b est Byzantine tradition. Tarnovoremained a capital almost as long asBulgaria remained independent. Besiegedby the Ottomans, it fell in .In , Tarnovo was the place where,after liberation from the Ottomans, thefirst Bulgarian parliament met to adoptthe Bulgarian Constitution and herethey chose Sofia as the capital of rebornBulgaria.TODAY The medieval ruins of Tarnovo
are in a state of constant rebuilding. Thetrend started in the s, flourished in thes-s and was re-established in the
late s, continuing to this day.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
27/69
48 49
WHENWHEREOn the DanubeTHENNikopol became a capital only be cause
it was the best place that King Ivan Shishman,the last Bulgarian ru ler, had left after Tarnovo
was lost. In , however, the Ottomansprevailed against the united European armiesin the messy Battle of Nikopol. The Bulgarian
state was extinguished for the next fivecenturies.NOWNikopol remained an administrative
centre until the th Century. After that, aperiod of decline began and the trend wasbarely reversed in the fol lowing centuries. Achurch and a much-rebuilt fortress are all thatremains of its medieval past.
WHEN WHEREOn the DanubeTHENThere was a time when there were two Bulgarias with two
capitals, for the reason that King Ivan Aleksandar did not want toquarrel with his second wife, Sarah, over which of his sons would
inherit. So he divided his kingdom. He gave the throne of Tarnovoto Ivan Shishman, his son with Sarah, and presented his eldest son,Ivan Sratsimir, with the mighty fortress of Vidin and the western
parts of the kingdom. Understandably, the two princes did not likeeach other and after their father's death, in , they fell out. Thisonly made it easier for the invading Ottomans. After Shishman'sdeath at Nikopol, Sratsimir accepted Ottoman sovereignty but wascaptured and disappeared from history.NOW Situated at the northwestern corner of modern Bulgaria,
plagued with unemployment, Vidin is one of the most depressedcities in Bulgaria. Its medieval fortress, however, still stands on thebanks of the Danube.
Constantly built and rebuilt since
Antiquity, at the end of the 14th
Century the Vidin fortress was
the stronghold of the short-lived
kingdom of Ivan Sratsimir
-
8/9/2019 VB89
28/69
50 51
Surreal site awaits at foot of Rila
by Bozhidara Georgieva; photography by Anthony Georgieff
Climate change is not just a modern concern, and the roc kformation near the village of Stob, on the road to Rila Monastery, isevidence of this.
When the last Ice Age ended in this part of Europe, about ,years ago, its glaciers loosened their grip on the frozen slopes of theRila and then withdrew, leaving behind a cover of fine debris.Those turned into soil, but at certain places most notably on aslope by the Rilska River this was not the end of it. Winds, sunand rain started eating into the soft crust of the hill and created tallcolumns in vivid red and yellow colours.
This was how the rock pyramids at Stob, one of Bulgaria's mostpopular off-the-beaten-track tourist sites, appeared.
Visiting the collection of pinnacles up to metres high, whichcovers about acres, is easy. Leave the busy E road to the Kulataborder checkpoint with Greece when you see the sign for the RilaMonastery, and after Kocherinovo head towards Stob.
The sleepy village lies at the foot of the pyramids, but you will findthem only after taking the easily-accessible eco path, which starts bythe local church.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
29/69
52 53
-
8/9/2019 VB89
30/69
54 55
The best time to come and marvel at this natural phenomenon isat sunset, when the last rays of light illuminate the pyramids with themost beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow.
The result is an unearthly landscape, more resembling somethingfrom a dream than ordinary Bulgarian reality.
Understandably, the rocks have become the source of local legendsabout love, lust and jealousy. Probably the most popular one tells ofa boy and a girl who decided to marry against the will of the boy'smother. The woman became deranged at her son's betrayal. She stucka cross into the earth and cursed all the participants at the wedding,crying for them to be turned into stone. God heard, and everyone inthe party froze for all eternity.
Another version blames the phenomenon on the lustful best-man,who was so enchanted with the beauty of the bride that he forgot
basic decency and tried to kiss her. Appalled by his misbehaviour, thewhole wedding party turned to stone literally.
A third story concerns a Christian girl and a Muslim boy whocould not marry be cause of their different religions. In despair, thegirl threw herself from a high rock , and was transformed into theformation known as The Bride.
All of these legends, however, cannot conceal an important fact.The rock pyramids at Stob are not static. The stone is too soft andeasily collapses under the assault of the elements, so the landscape isconstantly changing, with old pyramids crumbling to dust and newones being carved out of the slope, a slow but unending result of theforces of nature over which people have no power.
The mountains around Sopot
combine stunning vistas (left)
and historical remains of
churches and houses, ad well
as the walls of the Anevo
fortress
Previous spread:In the 11-14th centuries,
the fortified city of Stobi existed near the
present-day village, but erosion has severely
damaged its ruins
Sunset is the time when the pyramids of
Stob are at their best
-
8/9/2019 VB89
31/69
56 57
Travels to beginning of history
by Minka Vazkresenska; photography by Anthony Georgieff
-
8/9/2019 VB89
32/69
58 59
If you have ever been to Troy, in present-day Turkey, you wereprobably a bit disappointed or even felt slightly cheated. Theunremarkable ditches your tour g uide dragged you through hadlittle in common with the glorious pictures of passion, war and
tragedy embedded in the popular imagination by Homer and theBrad Pitt movie. If you listened to your g uide, however, you mighthave gathered that the settlement that is now portrayed to touristsas the Homeric Troy is important to historians for another reason. It
was continually inhabited for two millennia and hence has becomea reference point for early history in the region. For example, if a
particular type of pottery is found in one of the well-documentedand dated layers of Troy and then the same style of pottery appearsin another place (let's call it Site B), then you can deduce when Site Bitself was inhabited.
What is not widely known, however, is that Bulgaria has a similarsite. Like Troy, the outward appearance of Karanovo belies itshistorical significance. What is even worse, Karanovo, unlikeTroy, had no Homer to sing about its glory. As a result, it is mainlyarchaeologists who are interested in it.
But Karanovo truly embodies early human history in southeasternEurope.
The Karanovo settlement is a , sq.m mound, metres longby metres wide, rising up to metres. Situated in the fertile plainat the foot of the Sredna Gora mountains, near Nova Zagora, it hasbeen (almost) continuously inhabited for years.
The mound itself is the result of generations of people livingin one place, building their new houses of mud bricks and woodover the remains of older dwellings. The s ite was settled in the thMillennium BC, which was revolutionary, as before this the pe opleof Europe were nomadic hunter-gatherers.
Unlike their predecessors, the people of Karanovo did not l ive intemporary camps, following the migrations of wild animals. Instead,they settled in a s ingle place, building houses, farming the fertile landaround and keeping livestock.
Latching onto this fact, the "patriotic" Bulgarian media andsome scientists claim that the people of Karanovo were "the firstEuropeans" or the "authors of the first European civilisation."Actually, they were a part of a great c hange in human history, known
as the Neolithic Revolution. It started about the th MillenniumBC in the Fertile Crescent, in Asia Minor, where agriculture wasdeveloped and mastered. In the following millennia this new lifestylespread to Europe, passing through modern Gree ce and the UpperThracian Valley in Bulgaria and heading farther into the continent.
What makes Karanovo really special is the lon gevity of thesettlement. People continued living here from the very beginningof the Neolithic Age through the dawn and the development ofthe Chalcolithic Age, until its end. The settlement was abandonedthen for a while, but people again came to the man-made hill in theth Millennium BC, at the beginning of the Bronze Age.
It was only then that the settlement we know as Troy appeared.
Harnessed horses were
slaughtered to serve in eternity
their dead Thracian master, who
was buried in a mound near
Karanovo, in the 1st Century AD
-
8/9/2019 VB89
33/69
60
Archaeologists recognised the scientific significance of theKaranovo mound as early as the s. In the s, the seven majorstrata of the settlement were properly studied and Karanovo becamea reference point for the dating of prehistoric sites all over south-eastEurope. Only about , sq.m of the mound have be en excavated sofar, and the rest continues to hide its secrets.
Today, the Karanovo settlement is a s ite you can easily visit, if youfollow the worn-out tourist signs in the modern village of Karanovo.The place itself remains mainly of interest to historians and its mostexciting finds fine early Neolithic pottery with strange symbolsand decorations are in the National History Museum and theHistory Museum of Nova Zagora. However, the sheer size of thesettlement and the tall pole rec ording the different periods in its richhistory can make you stop and mar vel at how long Karanovo wasconsidered a good place to live.
A visit to Karanovo, however, need not end there. A few kilometresaway something more visually arresting awaits.
People abandoned the Karanovo mound, but not the area. Lifehere never ceased and the environs of the mo dern village are scattered
with the remains of virtually every period of human history.The tumuli of an ancient Thracian necropolis became the focus of
a media frenzy in recent years. In archaeologists detected tracesof treasure hunters digging in the so-called Eastern Mound, from thest Century AD. Excavations uncovered a perfectly preserved chariot,buried metres away from the tomb of its aristocratic owner. Theskeleton of a sacrificed dog and those of horses, still harnessed to thechariot, were perfectly preserved. Undisturbed by robbers, the dead
man's tomb contained precious objects, including expensive weaponsand luxurious cups of glass and silver, imported from Rome.Remarkably, the tumulus was not abandoned when the
archaeologists ended their work. The skeletons of the animals werepreserved in situ, and a complete replica of the chariot is now onshow with them, making, by Bulgarian standards, the Eastern Moundof Karanovo an exciting and innovative museum experience.
This series of articles is supported by the
America for Bulgaria Foundation. The
statements and opinions expressed herein
are those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria
Foundation and its partners.
-
8/9/2019 VB89
34/69
62 63
In February, people leaveSofia and head to Samokovfor a single reason to visitBorovets, the winter resortup into the pine woods of theRhodope.
Our motivation, however,is different and this is notonly because of the warm
weather. Samokov, a townnestled in the plain betweenthe Vitosha and the Rila is
worth a separate visit. In theMiddle Ages until the end ofthe th Century, it was a busycommercial and mining centre
outshining Sofia by far. Afterthe liberation, Samokovgradually lost its economic
power. Yet, what is now asleepy town is still dotted witharresting sights from its past.There are the Revival Periodchurches and the nunnery;the richly painted mosque andthe beautiful Ottoman waterfountain; the empty shell ofa synagogue and the spacious
house of a Jewish family; thecharming city museum andthe brazen community housefrom the interwar period.
The road to Samokov wasour biggest draw. Goingupstream the Iskar River,squeezed between themountains, it is the perfectopportunity to test the powerof the new Mazda. Indeed,
while in congested Sofia, thecar attracts envious looks of
passers-by. But this sleek beastof a car needs a road to roamfreely with its . d iesel
horse power engine and theroad to Samokov is just that.
Bend after bend, the roadclimbs, passing villages, hotels,the Urvich Fortress and theIskar Dam. There are some
potholes, some water andsome sand on it, but despitethese the Mazda with -speedautomatic transmissionaccelerates and slows downeasily, staying stable at any
Exploring winding roads and asleepy town with the new Mazda3
by Bozhidara Georgieva; photography by Stamen Manolov
the city is finally over, wehesitate. We want to prolongour Mazda trip as long as
possible. The navigation offersa solution returning to Sofiaon the longer road through the
village of Zheleznitsa.We don't hesitate anymore.
We sit in the comfortableseats and hit the road runningthrough the plane, towardsthe Vitosha looming on thehorizon. We are lost in the
pleasure.
When we enter the Vitosha,night is coming on and thelack of proper road signsmakes the road barely visible.However, the Bi-XENONlights, the system for radarcruise control which checksthe distance to the car infront and the Lane Departing
Warning are making it easierto drive. Upon arriving inSofia, we are not tired at all.Actually, we are ready foranother Mazda adventure.
moment. The speed shineson the Mazda Head UpDisplay along with every bitof important information youmight need while driving,including the messages fromthe navigation system.
Lost in the moment ofdriving and in the musicbooming from the BOSE HiFiSound System, we arrive atSamokov as if we have been onthe road for just a few minutes.
When the long walk around
-
8/9/2019 VB89
35/69
64 65
Dr Tanya Timeva is a highly-qualified specialistin obstetrics, gynaecology and re productive medicinewho has been working with Prof. Dr Atanas Shterev
since . In , Dr Timeva completed her PhDin "Prognostic factors for the outcome of ART" andin , she was chosen for a representative of the
European Society of Human Reproduction andEmbryology (ESHRE). Since , Dr Timeva hasbeen a President Elect of the Bulgarian Association ofSterility and Reproductive Health.
What are the latest trends in gynaecologicalsurgery?
In the last years, laparoscopy developedinto a major surgical tool used for a number ofmedical indications. The so-called gynaecologicalendoscopic surgery, combining gynaecologicalendoscopy and minimally invasive surgery, hasbeen also widely applied as it allows applicationof surgical interventions without a major openoperation. It now is one of the common techniquesin operative gynaecology, applied in cases such astreatment of endometriosis, endometrial polyps,
uterus, ovarian cysts removal, etc. Generally,gynaecologica l endoscopy involves hysteroscopyand laparoscopy, which are both used for diagnosticand operative purposes. The latest trends in thisfield goes even further, with so-called office-based
procedures like office hysteroscopy which isapplied at the doctor's office without anaesthesiaor sedation and patients leave the hospital straightafter the procedure.
What are the advantages of gynaecologicalendoscopy?
It is performed through small incisions, thusreducing post-surgery discomfort and blood loss.Post-operative recovery is faster. Laparoscopicsurgery also reduces the probability of post-surgeryinternal scar tissues and p ost-operational infectionsare also less probable. From surgeon's perspective,laparoscopic surgery is ea sier and more convenientto perform because the internal areas of interest aremagnified and seen on a large TV screen.
The application of endoscopic surgery requirescutting-edge equipment and trained personnel.What can Dr Shterev Hospital offer to itspatients?
We are using up-to-date technologies as theyare key for the succe ssful procedure's outcomeand strive to achieve the high level of the lead ingEuropean hospitals in terms of medical e quipmentand service performance. Cutting-edge equipmentalone is not useless without trained and qualifiedspecialists. We are improving our knowledge andskills on a daily basis through training courses,attendance of international practical workshopsand invitations of renowned surgeons from leading
world clinics, so our patients can be consulted byforeign experts without leaving Bulgaria.
Dr Shterev Hospital was accredited by oneof the leading organisations in Europe theEuropean Board College of Obstetrics andGynaecology. What is this accreditation about?
Our hospital was accredited for the maximumperiod of four years, becoming an accreditedEuropean centre for training in obstetrics andgynaecology. This is a merited recognition for themedical equipment and the high level of specialists,
working at the hospital.
Te thought of 'going underthe knife' can be shockingbut it shouldn't be,says Dr anyaimeva, medical
director atDr ShterevHospital
-
8/9/2019 VB89
36/69
66
, , - -, - - .
, - .
,, ,,
2 -, C1 6 FCE Cambridge 7 . 6 .
6 2012-2013. 2013 , 59 , , , , , , 6 10 .
- .
Oxford university, Cambridge university London School of Economic - .
.
2
,
.
20 . , . 20 -
.
1992 . - . "", . " " 18 6 . 1994 . 12 . 160 .
- . , , -
. - .
. , , . .
ESPA-bg. com, 0899 161 734, . , . 23
- , .
?
, - , , , . - , , - - .
-
8/9/2019 VB89
37/69
68 69
Spectacular sunsetsover singing sea
by Violeta Rozova; photography by Anthony Georgieff
-
8/9/2019 VB89
38/69
70 71
The unwise traveller who wants to see as much as possible of theCroatian Adriatic coast in as short a time as possible, inevitablyrealises, at the end of the trip, that of all the places visited none can benamed from the other.
Romanesque cathedrals, Gothic churches, fortress walls, Romanruins and the peeling faades of th Century houses, which in realitybelong to different cities, merge in the tired mind of the traveller intoa single town.
As in Plato's idea, this imaginary town combines all the CroatianAdriatic towns and at the same time is none of them.
It is only when the t