Dimana Trankova Anthony Georgieff

HIDDEN TREASURES OF BULGARIA 2

by Dimana Trankova, Anthony Georgieff

Dimana Trankova, 2014 (text)

Anthony Georgieff, 2014 (text and photography)
Tsvetomir Trankov, 2014 (photography on pp6, 36)
Subedited by Jane Keating
Graphic design by Gergana Shkodrova
Printed by Dimiter Blagoev Printing House, Sofia
FSI Foundation, 2014
First published in November, 2014
The publication of this book 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.

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HIDDEN TREASURES
OF BULGARIA 2

All rights reserved. Without limiting the copyright reserved above, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying or
otherwise), without the prior written consent of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-619-90319-1-9

F R E E S P E E C H I N T E R N AT I O N A L F O U N D AT I O N

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

BULGARIAN MONASTERIES

126

FROM DURANKULAK TO REZOVO

12

BUYING BRIDES

BULGARIA'S SUNKEN CHURCHES

38

THE DANUBE

ANGLO-SAXON BULGARIA

42

BULGARIA'S BRIDGES

IF ORPHEUS PLAYED BAGPIPES

50

AMERICAN DREAM UNDER WATER

188

BUZLUDZHA

58

RIBNOVO WEDDINGS

194

OTTOMAN BULGARIA

66

STONE CROSSES

210

76

DIMITROVGRAD

218

KOVACHEVITSA

80

JEWISH BULGARIA

226

LIONS AND EAGLES OF SOFIA

86

BORDERLANDS

234

WALKING ON FIRE

98

CAPITAL URBAN CULTURE

248

AROMATIC BULGARIA

STONES AND STORIES

148
160

174

110
5

Introduction

Once horse carts used to trundle along the roads of Bulgaria. They were
an integral part of this country's village culture, inspiring writer Yordan
Yovkov's (1880-1937) short story "The Wheel Song"

In 1933-1934, when he made his famous journey on foot

from The Hook of Holland to Istanbul, Sir Patrick "Paddy" Leigh
Fermor, the father of travel writing the way we know it today,
wrote: "I have never met anyone who had been to Bulgaria.
Romania and Hungary looked westwards to Vienna, Berlin,
London and Paris, and the benighted region of the Balkans was
terra incognita... in the eyes of everyone living north of the river,
Bulgaria seemed the darkest, most backward and least inviting
country except Albania."
Things have come a long way since those pre-war years.
Organised tourism was a government policy priority up to 1989,
mainly for groups from "fraternal" Communist states holidaying
in purpose-built resorts on the Black Sea coast or skiing in
the Rila and the Rhodope. Travelling on your own behind the
Iron Curtain, however, was out of the question, and with the
exception of a few very dedicated and very brave Westerners,
no one dared take the challenge. Bulgaria continued to be the
least known European land outside Albania.
When Communism collapsed, Bulgaria began in earnest to
receive what initially was a tiny trickle of independent travellers.
That trickle intensified and turned into a steady flow in the 2000s
when many came to the country, loved it and started buying
holiday homes. Inspired by its unknown culture, intoxicated by
its climate, charmed by its cuisine and fascinated by its people,
these newcomers brought in their friends and families, as well
as the friends of their friends and families. Going-to-Bulgaria
became an oft-heard adage in the lobbies of Western airports.
Going where? To Bulgaria?

What has been turned into huge Benidorm-type holiday

complexes along the Black Sea coast tells only a part of the
story. Many shy away from the sort of entertainment the new
complexes promise, and venture into the Bulgarian heartland.
That is where our story starts.
At first we were amazed. Even through we have been quite
familiar with all aspects of Bulgaria for a long time, during
our recent travels through the country we made numerous
discoveries few visitors and even Bulgarians suspect could exist.
One of them is the village of Gumoshtnik, in northern Bulgaria.
If you happen to drive through, you will be unimpressed. But if
you know the story, you will knock on the church door and the
priest will emerge. After the obligatory chat, he will take you to
the churchyard and point to you a monument to... the Titanic
ship. Yes what was a major maritime disaster for the world in
1912, was for the people of this village a sheer catastrophe
many young, able-bodied Gumoshtnik men perished with
the Titanic as they were third-class passengers on their way to
America. Some, curiously, lived on, Tom Sawyer-like, because
they were too late to embark at Southampton...
Another is the dozen or so sunken churches in various
locations through the country. From the 1950s, when massive
industrialisation and collectivised farming started, the
government ordered the construction of smaller and bigger
reservoirs. Often, whole villages had to be resettled as they
were to be submerged in water. These villages have long been
forgotten. Yet locals will remember their names and point the
right way to them. What remains of these villages is... their

churches. Surreally, when the water is low, their belfries stick

out: sad symbols of the passage of time and human fragility.
Yet another is this country's very interesting Jewish heritage.
Bulgaria is obviously not Poland, and you should not expect to
stumble upon synagogues and abandoned Jewish cemeteries
at every road turn. But it once had a vibrant Jewish community
that has left many traces of its existence. They are here for you
to discover, if you know where to look: often poignant and in
various stages of dilapidation, Bulgaria's Jewish heritage is a
gateway to a lesser known but fascinating chapter of the history
of the Balkans and of southeastern Europe.
By now you have probably heard the explanations of the 500
years of Ottoman domination of the Bulgarian lands, from the
14th to the late 19th centuries. Usually, this period is mentioned
just in passing in Bulgarian textbooks, and usually the focus
is put on the failed uprising and the atrocities they prompted.
There is little if any reference to the amalgamation between the
various constituent nations of the Ottoman Empire and how in
many ways it predetermined what Bulgaria and the Bulgarians
are today. For one, the Ottomans were great builders. Ottomanera heritage in the form of public buildings, baths, clocktowers,
water fountains, bridges and mosques is everywhere in modern
Bulgaria. It provides yet another look into how Bulgaria's past
continues to play a major role in Bulgaria's present
Then there are the legacies of Communism. Immediately
after the Second World War and until 1989 Bulgaria was often
referred to as the most loyal satellite of the Soviet Union. It was.
The hundreds if not thousands of Communist-era monuments
throughout the country stand silent witnesses to those years.
Some of them are well kept and maintained, many have been
abandoned and left to the elements. Buzludzha, dubbed
Communism's Flying Saucer, is nothing like anything you've
seen before. It's as incredible as a Cadillac in Pyongyang. We
visited at night. You may, too.
But this book is not only about out-of-the-way hard-to-find
curiosities. Bulgaria is not just material heritage. It is a living
organism where many interesting things happen every day.
One of them is the annual Gypsy brides market held near
Stara Zagora. You got it right a market where Gypsy girls are
passed on by their parents to their would-be husbands, and
cash changes hands. Don't think anything nasty, however. No
one sells human beings into slavery. This is a tradition that may
seem odd and not particularly politically correct, but it has been

10

going on for a long time. Visiting provides a unique opportunity

to glimpse into the lives of a significant chunk of the Bulgarian
population.
Another is played out in the village of Ribnovo, on the
western slopes of the Rhodope. A traditional Ribnovo wedding
is an incredible mixture between pagan pageantry and... Islam.
It is so drastically different from any mainstream wedding party
that even many Bulgarians are stunned if they happen to be in
the area at wedding time.
In his 1934 novel Thank You, Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse placed
this conversation: "You say that instrument, Jeeves. And you say
it in an unpleasant, soupy voice. Am I to understand that you
dislike this banjolele?'
'Yes, sir.'
'You've stood it all right up to now.'
'With grave difficulty, sir.'
'And let me tell you that better men than you have stood
worse than banjoleles. Are you aware that a certain Bulgarian,
Elia Gospodinoff, once played the bagpipes for twenty-four
hours without a stop? Ripley vouches for this in his Believe It Or
Not.'
'Indeed, sir?'
'Well, do you suppose Gospodinoff 's personal attendant
kicked? A laughable idea. They are made of better stuff than
that in Bulgaria. I am convinced that he was behind the young
master from start to finish of his attempt on the Central
European record, and I have no doubt frequently rallied round
with ice packs and other restoratives. Be Bulgarian, Jeeves.'
'No, sir. I fear I cannot recede from my position."
This is of course fiction, and funny at that, but Bulgaria is
indeed one of the few countries in the world, possibly outside
Ireland and Scotland, where bagpiping is taken seriously.
The best place to experience the mesmerising voices of the
Bulgarian bagpipes is in Gela, a tiny hilltop village in southern
Bulgaria. Again nothing like Ireland or Scotland.
One of the most mysterious rites still practiced in Bulgaria is
that of firewalking. It happens just twice a year, in two remote
villages in the Strandzha, very near the border with Turkey.
Partaking of the collective trance of the firewalkers as they
step into the live embers is otherworldly. Whereas the Ribnovo
weddings are a mixture between pagan pageantry and Islam,
the Strandzha firewalking is an equally bizarre mixture between
pagan pageantry and Orthodoxy. In this part of Europe,

Christianity arrived before heathenism had gone away, and an

epitome of that are Bulgaria's nestinari.
To get to really know Bulgaria for what it is, one needs to
venture off the beaten track. And to be able to understand
what you see and experience you need to understand the
language and know what is sometimes a very complex
background. Bulgaria is no longer the unknown and reclusive
country it once was, but despite the better roads, the airports
and the steady tourist traffic it continues to hold many secrets.
That's what makes it so intriguing! You stand a good chance
of making your own discoveries. This a rare anywhere else in
Europe these days.

11

FROM
DURANKULAK
TO REZOVO
Black Sea road tripping from north
to south unravels many off-the-beatentrack locations that are at least as
fascinating as the known landmarks
You may like the bustle and vibes of Sunny Beach or you
may hate it; but do not judge the rest of the Bulgarian Black
Sea coast by it. While Bulgaria's maritime border is only 378
kilometres long, it is rich and diverse. Venture along it, and you
will encounter majestic cliffs and surreal remains of Socialism,
busy cities and still unspoilt beaches, archaeological sites and
wetlands and rare birds.
Before you start, here is some practical advice: there is no
such thing as a Black Sea coastal highway in Bulgaria and most
of the road will be inland, not by the sea. As always in Bulgaria,
drive defensively, especially in high season.
For years, Durankulak, Bulgaria's northernmost village on the
Black Sea coast, was popular mainly with people from Varna,
who cherished its remoteness and complete lack of Sofianites.
Here, they used to enjoy the fish soup at the Zlatna Ribka
restaurant and the free camping on the almost empty sandy
beach by the Durankulak lake.
This has changed dramatically in recent years as many Bulgarians
swapped the overdeveloped southern Black Sea for the north, and
Romanians have started to visit en masse for an easy and carefree
vacation. However, Durankulak is still pretty much overlooked.

Bolata Bay north of Cape Kaliakra in wintertime

12

13

Situated on the Via Pontica bird migration route, Durankulak

lake is one of Bulgaria's most important wetlands. It is home to
over 250 rare and endangered plant and animal species, but it
is not only nature that is of interest here. The larger of the two
islands in the lake was dubbed the Troy of Europe, as in the
6th Millennium BC one of the first human settlements in the
continent was established here.
Less than 20 kilometres south of Durankulak is Shabla. The
town itself is unpromising but its fishermen's quarter, called
Kariya after the old Roman town that existed there, may easily
become one of the highlights of your journey. Marked by the
red-and-white-striped lighthouse, the quarter fronts a big
sandy bay and stinks of sulphur wafting from the piped hot
mineral springs.
The lighthouse was built in 1857, and it is the easternmost,
the tallest at 32 metres, and the oldest in Bulgaria. It was
constructed after Ottoman Sultan Abdlmecid (1839-1861)
commissioned the French Compagnie des Phares de lEmpire
Ottomane to make navigation of the Black Sea safer with
a series of lighthouses on the most dangerous spots of the
coastline. Sadly, entering the Shabla lighthouse is banned, so
you cannot take a closer look at two interesting details. One is
the sultan's tura, or seal, on the main faade, and the other is
a lion carved high on the wall. According to local lore, the lion
was created by a Bulgarian builder to indicate his identity within
the Ottoman Empire.
Next to the lighthouse there is a less pleasant remnant
of the past the rusting remains of a metal pier. It was built
in the 1960s as the place where Soviet tankers would load
tons of crude oil drilled from the plain around Shabla. Oil? In
Shabla? Yes, the local deposits of crude oil were discovered in
the 1950s and started a full scale oil rush in what at the time
was Communist Bulgaria. The government started building
infrastructure, but before it was finished it became clear that
the quantities of crude were much less than initially thought, so
everything was abandoned. It still remains, a sad memory of the
megalomania of Communism left to the indifference of the 21st
Century.
When you head south from Shabla, you will see more remains
of the stillborn Bulgarian oil industry. The fields, which look
endless as you are at the southernmost tip of the great Eurasian
steppes, are dotted with rusting oil tanks and abandoned drills.
In the past few years many of them have been removed and

14

now, among the fields of rapeseed, wheat and sunflowers, the

beacons of the new fashion in Bulgarian power generation have
appeared: wind turbines.
The village of Kamen Bryag, further south, would be a
waste of your time if it were not for the Yaylata plateau, rising
60-70 metres above the sea. Magnificently unspoilt, this
area combines steppe, rocky and marine ecosystems and an
astonishing biodiversity. About 200 migratory species live in
and around the plateau, which is a nature reserve. Rare plants
like the wild peony are found in abundance, and the peak
flowering period is the end of April and the beginning of May.
Yaylata is also a place with a historical heritage. The steppe
is dotted with dozens of graves carved into the rocks, probably
by Sarmatians in the 2-5th centuries. When you take the path
leading deep into the reserve, you pass by caves, which in the
5-6th centuries were used as hermitages; archaeologists have
identified more than 100, and a fortress from the same period
rises from the tip of the plateau.
Many Bulgarians visit Yaylata to camp, swim, explore the
water-level caves and climb the steep rocks. The crowd
becomes enormous on 30 June, when people gather here to
have fun and greet the sunrise by singing Uriah Heep's July
Morning. The event, called Dzhulaya, came into being in the
1980s as an anti-establishment protest, but is now rather tame
and somewhat commercialised.
The fortress at Cape Kaliakra, about a 10-kilometre drive
from Yaylata, is the most visited archaeological site in the area.
Situated on a long, narrow cape rising 70 metres above the
sea, it was the stronghold of a powerful Bulgarian family in the
13th-14th centuries. One of its members, Despot Dobrotitsa,
even gave his name to the whole region: Dobrudzha. At the tip
of the promontory there is a chapel with the supposed grave of
St Nicholas. According to legend, he ran towards the sea from
the invading Ottomans, praying to God to rescue him. God did

Built by the Ottomans in the mid-19th century, the Shabla Lighthouse

marks Bulgaria's easternmost point
Next spread: The Yaylata Plateau, where the ecosystem has changed little
during the past 1,000 years, is the last chunk of the great Eurasian steppe in
Bulgaria. It holds many wonders, including a continuously burning natural
gas well known as The Little Fire

15

16

17

help by extending the solid ground of the promontory with

every step he took, but the saint was also a man and eventually
became tired, and he was killed when he stopped to rest.
The most popular legend about Kaliakra again involves the
Ottoman invasion in the late 14th Century. When the fort was
overrun, 40 Bulgarian maidens braided their hair together and
jumped to their death to avoid capture. A modern sculpture of
them now stands at the entrance to the promontory. Next to it
there is a monument to Russian General Feodor Ushakov, who
in 1791 won a decisive battle against the Ottomans at Cape
Kaliakra, effectively ending the 1787-1792 Russo-Turkish war.
Kaliakra also explodes with wildlife, and Taukliman lake and
the Bolata wetland, both north of the cape, are a true paradise
for birdwatchers. Bolata also has a nice beach, sheltered in a
cove.
Kavarna is the closest city to Kaliakra, and for a long time it
was only a place to pass through on the way to somewhere
else. Not anymore. In 2003, the local mayor organised a concert
of rock and heavy metal groups who had long passed their
zenith of popularity in the West, but had never been seen live
in Bulgaria. Thousands of fans gathered, and the concert turned
into a festival, appropriately named Kavarna Rocks. It has now
lost some of its initial momentum, but it is still a major event.
Kavarna called itself the Rock Capital of Bulgaria and Socialistera blocks of apartments were adorned with now fading murals
of visiting rock stars. After Ronnie James Dio died in 2010, a
statue of him was placed in the city park.
The next big attraction on your way is Balchik.
Overdevelopment has taken its toll on this once idyllic city
looking out to sea at the foot of high white cliffs. Luckily, the
lovely summer palace of the English-born Marie, Queen of
Romania, built as a retreat in the 1920s, is still unspoilt. Marie
was a Baha'ist and believed in the amalgamation of all religions,
so she planned her palace as an embodiment of this principle.
In the compound there is a mock Roman water temple, a
garden dedicated to Allah, a Christian chapel, and a fine
collection of Moldavian stone crosses.
The Botanical Garden next door is a nice addition, and if
you are after picturesque bay views, take the panoramic road

The distinctive cliff shore south of Cape Kaliakra, or the nearest thing
to Dover you can find in Bulgaria

18

towards the old Muslim cemetery. It is on the top of a hill

overlooked by a Hollywood-style sign that reads B-A-L-C-H-I-K
and is easily recognisable, as part of it has been turned into a
lorry park.
Recently, right in the centre of the city, an ancient temple of
Cybele, an Asia Minor goddess who was popular all over the
Greco-Roman world, was discovered. Plans to turn the site into
a museum are underway, but you can see statues of Cybele,
votive tablets and architectural details from the temple in
Balchik's small but fascinating history museum.
The next place of interest on the road south is Islamic, the
tekke, or shrine, of the 16th Century sage Ak Yazl Baba in the
village of Obrochishte, near the resort of Albena. Only the
beautiful stone heptagonal trbe, or tomb, and the shell of a large
public kitchen remain of what was one of the great centres of
Alevism in Bulgaria. This branch of Islam propagates the equality
of religions and has borrowed some of its rites from Christianity.
Even under the Ottomans, local Christians believed that St
Atanas was buried in Ak Yazl Baba tekke, and it was a place of
pilgrimage. The shrine is still venerated by Muslims and Christians
alike, as both light candles to the memory of the saint.
Then comes Varna. Bulgaria's largest seaside city is a place
of contrasts. It is sprawling and congested, and most of the
holidaymakers on the city beaches are Bulgarians combining
a visit to their Varna relatives with a bit of sunbathing, but it
is also a place to enjoy, with one of the best restaurant scenes
in the region. A leisurely stroll along the tourist-crowded
pedestrian area is fun, and the Greek Quarter, the oldest
inhabited part of the city, is a patchwork of history, people and
religions. Here the remains of the largest Roman bathhouse in
the Balkans share space with Greek and Armenian churches,
and elegant pre-1944 houses are squeezed between blocks of
flats from the 2000s.
Varna's must-see attraction is the Archaeological Museum
which, among other exhibits, houses the oldest gold treasure in
the world. Beads, ritual sceptres and clothing adornments from
the beginning of the 4th Millennium BC were interned with
their owners in a few graves in a huge prehistoric burial ground.
This makes the Varna necropolis one of the earliest examples of
social stratification in human society.
The mouth of the Kamchiya River, about 35 kilometres south
of Varna, is a complete contrast to the buzz of the big city. The
river flows slow and wide, its banks covered with lush greenery.

19

Big in Kavarna. Since the 2000s Kavarna has been known as the Rock
Capital of Bulgaria, with various bands such as Helloween, Manowar, Slayer
and Scorpions performing there. Communist-era housing projects have
been adorned with murals showing past and present rock stars
Left page: English-born Queen Marie of Romania built her Quiet Nest retreat
in the 1920s near Balchik, which at that time was in southern Romania.
Marie was a follower of Baha'ism, an amalgamation of world religions, and
had her palace decorated with symbols of all the major faiths including
crosses, crescents and six-pointed stars

20

21

Close by is Karadere, probably Bulgaria's best unspoiled

beach. The road to it meanders between Byala and the village
of Goritsa. In the years before overdevelopment took its toll on
the southern Black Sea coast, Karadere was one among many
pristine beaches in Bulgaria. The construction boom, however,
has forced many holidaymakers, unhappy with what has
become of their previous haunts, to flock here.
Cape Emine, about 25 kilometres south, is where the
Stara Planina range meets the Black Sea. The cape is also the
geographical division between the northern and the southern
Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and with its 60 metres of steep rock
rising above the sea it is an arresting sight.
Cape Emine is the end of the E-3 European long-distance
path. This starts in Spain, follows the Camino of St James,
crosses France, Slovakia and Romania, and enters Bulgaria. Then
it traverses the Stara Planina range, from Kom Peak to the Black
Sea. The hikers completing the Bulgarian section of the E-3
have created a peculiar tradition. Each takes two pebbles from
Kom and carries them all the way to Cape Emine. There, they
throw one of the pebbles into the sea and keep its partner as a
memento of the journey.
After Emine, the most developed part of the Bulgarian coast
begins. Resorts like St Vlas and Sunny Beach are well known
for their crowds, but Nesebar, a UNESCO world heritage site,
deserves a few hours. Situated on what was once an island
but is now joined to the mainland by a narrow causeway, it is
a place of ancient fortress walls, medieval churches, Revival
Period houses and all the touristy kitsch you can squeeze in
between.
There is evidence that Thracians lived here first, but the
Greek settlers were the ones to recognise and develop ancient
Mesembria's potential as a trading outpost, in the 7th Century
BC. The city quickly became one of the major Greek colonies
around the Black Sea replete with fortress walls, theatre,
temples and so on. It even minted its own coins.
In the Middle Ages, Mesembria regained its significance as
a port. The wealthy traders filled the limited space inside the

Wadysaw III Warneczyk, the Polish-Hungarian King, died in battle

with the Ottomans near Varna in 1444. His demise marked the end of the
Crusades. He is now honoured with a cenotaph inside a small mausoleum
on the battlefield, but his official tomb is in Wawel Cathedral in Cracow

fortress walls with churches in the latest Byzantine fashion.

Many of these have been preserved, but if you want a shortlist
of must-sees, check out the ruins of the Old Bishopric from
the 4th Century and the churches of St John the Baptist, Ss
Archangel Michail and Gabriel, and Christ Pantokratoros, all
from the 11-13th centuries.
The houses of wood and stone which are the other part of
Nesebar's claim to fame were built by wealthy merchants in
the 18-19th centuries. With changes in the economy and trade
routes, however, Nesebar began a steady decline, which was
further increased by the exchange of populations between
Bulgaria and Greece in the early 20th Century. Most of the
Greeks, who had lived in Nesebar for millennia, departed and
Bulgarians from Aegean Thrace and Macedonia took their place.
Gradually, the once prosperous city turned into a backwater.
The city was revived by Socialist efforts to develop mass
tourism in the 1950s, the creation of the Sunny Beach resort
nearby and the UNESCO World Heritage list inclusion in 1983.
However, overdevelopment, lack of regulation and hoards of
day trippers have robbed Nesebar of much of its erstwhile
charm.
Once Nesebar is behind you, you pass through Pomorie,
whose newest hotels aspire to rival Las Vegas. Do stop at the
nearby ancient tomb. Built in the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, the
tomb belonged to a wealthy Thracian family and is unparalleled
in Europe. In the middle of the rotund, brick-and-mortar
chamber stands a massive hollow column. A staircase inside
it leads up to the top of the mound. This strange construction
probably reflected the ancient Thracian belief that, after death,
those initiated into the secret teachings of Orpheus would turn
into demi-gods.
After Pomorie there is Burgas, the largest city in the area, and
which has won The Best Place to Live in Bulgaria title for several
years in a row. In order to decide if you agree or disagree,
you should spend a leisurely day in Burgas, strolling through
the Maritime Garden and mingling with the crowds in the
pedestrian area.
Around the city there are several lakes and wetlands which
are good for birdwatchers eager to spot rare and endangered
species such as Dalmatian pelicans, Eurasian bitterns,
Ferruginous ducks and Pygmy cormorants.
Sozopol, at the southern tip of the Bay of Burgas, is almost
as ancient, charming and overdeveloped as its rival, Nesebar.

23

What is now known as The Old Bishopric of Nesebar was built in the 5th-6th
centuries in the centre of the ancient town of Messemvria. The Venetians
attacked in 1257 and plundered the relics of St Theodore, bringing them to
La Serenissima
Left page: Rising 60 metres above the sea, Cape Emine marks the point
where the Stara Planina meets the Black Sea

24

This city was founded, again by Greeks on Thracian land, in the

7th Century BC. Nesebar and Sozopol were rivals throughout
history, competing for their share of the market and the
splendour of their architecture. While Sozopol lacks the fine
collection of Byzantine churches that Nesebar has, it has plenty
to offer. Roam around the cobbled streets and, if you visit offseason, you will experience what life in the early 20th Century
was like for the local fishing community.
One of the landmarks, sadly off limits as it was once a military
area, is the erstwhile School for Fishermen. Built by royal
decree in the 1920s to provide schooling for Bulgarian children
belonging to the families who were replacing the departing
Greeks, it has some famous alumni. One of them is Asen Peykov,
who was schooled as a fisherman but fell in for... sculpture. After
graduating, Peykov left for Italy where he became a famous
artist. Next time you are in Rome you may find yourself in Piazza
Assen Peykov, the square named after the famous Bulgarian.
The statue of Leonardo da Vinci in front of Rome's Fiumicino
Airport was sculpted by Peykov, who depicted the great
Renaissance man holding models of his flying contraptions. It
all started in Sozopol...
Development spreads far south after Sozopol and your first
gulp of tranquil sea air will be at Ropotamo. This protected
area covers the mouth of the river, and natural phenomena
including the Lion's Head and the Arkutino wetland. The mouth

25

of the Ropotamo River is a popular sunbathing spot. A little to

the north is the small St Thomas Island, popularly referred to as
Snake Island, the only place in Bulgaria where cacti grow in the
wild. Actually, they are not indigenous, as they were brought
there by King Boris III, in 1933. The island takes its name from
the snakes that live in the waters around, but there is no reason
to be alarmed they are quite harmless.
Mass tourism prevails over the following 35 kilometres
south, with centres in Primorsko, Kiten, Lozenets and Tsarevo.
In the thick oak forests around Primorsko, however, there is a
megalithic Thracian sanctuary which has been dubbed by the
local media the Bulgarian Stonehenge. Its real name, Begliktash,
is harder to pronounce. Until recently, this strange collection
of megaliths was off-limits, as it was situated in the Perla
Residence, a gated playground for the Communist elite. Today
you can walk around freely, inspecting the huge rocks aligned
in a formation which some people claim is a gigantic sundial
and marvelling at the heart-shaped boulder which balances as
if in defiance of the law of gravity. The sanctuary's most popular
attraction is a narrow, claustrophobic crevice between two
upright rocks. Only the righteous can squeeze through, and it
helps not to be overweight.
Ahtopol is packed with Bulgarians holidaying on a budget,
and yet it stands out. The unofficial Bonito Capital of Bulgaria
still preserves the charm of a fishing settlement. Like Sozopol
and Nesebar, Ahtopol was founded by Greeks during their
Black Sea colonisation in the 7-5th centuries, and the remains of
ancient fortifications still loom among the tiny houses in the old
centre. The bay, with its fishing boats and lighthouse, is one of
the most romantic places on this part of the coast.
Further south, Sinemorets is a place to visit for its natural
features. The northern beach is a combination of a liman and
a picturesque bay, but swimming there is not advised, as the
liman water squeezes under the sand and flows into the sea,
creating a strong undertow. The south beach is safer and
more crowded. A walking route along the coast starts here,
leading you past some amazing rock formations and instructing
you on the geological past of the area.

Founded by refugees and migrants at the end of the 19th Century, Burgas
quickly became one of the most cosmopolitan and prosperous cities in
Bulgaria. For several years now it has been voted Best City To Live In

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Ever since its foundation as a Greek colony in the 7th Century BC, Sozopol
has been a major rival of Nesebar, 60 kilometres to the north. It is now
chiefly a tourist attraction
Left page: Black Sea dried-and-salted fish, known as chiroz, is the ultimate
Bulgarian seaside delicacy. Traditionally made with local mackerel, which
has disappeared due to pollution and the massive industrial fishing of the
1960s, it is now made with scad or cod
Next spread: Storms over the Island of St Ivan, near Sozopol, help explain
where the Black Sea gets its name from

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Sinemorets, 10 kilometres from the Turkish border, has preserved much

of its natural beauty owing to it being cordoned off as a border zone until
the 1990s. The Veleka River, which rises in Turkey and flows through the
Strandzha, meets the Black Sea north of Sinemorets in a spectacular estuary
Left page: Begliktash, a Thracian megalithic sanctuary, was a no-go area
until the 2000s as it was inside a government holiday compound. Located
north of Primorsko, it is now a major site of interest
Previous spread: The estuary of the Ropotamo River is a nature reserve
boasting one of the last pristine beaches on the southern Bulgarian Black
Sea coast

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If this path does not sound like much, you will change
your mind when you see Listi Beach. Protected by the thick
Strandzha forest and high cliffs, it is one of the few stretches
of sand in the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast that is still
unspoilt by hotels, parasols, taverns, water sports and booming
music.
Silistar Beach, the last on Bulgarian territory before Turkey,
is farther south along the eco path, but it can be reached by car,
via the road to Rezovo. It is beautiful, but far more developed,
with a camping site, a tavern and a forest of umbrellas taking
up a good proportion of the sand.
The eco path, and the asphalt road, end at Rezovo, Bulgaria's
last village before the border with Turkey. Unlike Durankulak,
there is no border crossing here, which is a shame as the
Rezovska River mouth, which forms the border, is just
a few metres wide. The small local beach is too muddy
for swimming, but the satisfaction of having reached one
of Bulgaria's furthermost points is sufficient justification for
the 378kilometres travelled all the way from Durankulak.

Dzhulaya, which can be roughly translated as The July, is a massive allnight seaside party, which started in the 1980s as a form of counterculture
protest near the village of Kamen Bryag. It is now much tamer and more
commercialised

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July morninig

Buzludzha
'Flying Saucer' designed to assert
supremacy of Communism
lies exposed to the elements

You may have stumbled upon it in the various World's

Ghostliest Derelict Sites lists circulating on the Internet. This
monument on Mount Buzludzha is the largest completely
useless structure in Bulgaria and on a clear day its oval body and
70-metre high pylon are clearly visible from miles around in the
central part of the Stara Planina mountain range.
The Buzludzha concrete behemoth was built in 1981 to
commemorate the establishment of Bulgaria's Socialist Party,
which post-1944 Communists and present-day Socialists regard
as their spiritual progenitor.
The first Bulgarian Socialist Party was founded at the end
of the 19th Century by Dimitar Blagoev, a dedicated Socialist,
after whom the modern Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad is
named. At that time, Bulgaria was overwhelmingly a peasant
society. It remained so until the Communist coup of 1944,
which brought about forced collectivisation and massive,
if not not very well thoughtout, industrialisation. At the
end of the 19th Century some intellectuals had embraced
Marxist ideas of a proletarian revolution, even though no
genuine working class existed in the country. However,
they faced a problem. Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov
was firmly leading the country towards modernisation, but
"democracy" was not among his bywords. Whoever opposed

True or false? The Buzludzha monument was inspired by the Annunciation

Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, designed by Frank Lloyd
Wright in 1956? Probably false

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him was subjected to persecution. Consequently, the future

of organised Socialism did not look rosy.
Dimitar Blagoev came up with a bold idea. Though he sensed
the Stambolov authorities would clamp down on any public
expression of Socialism, he and his associates decided to hold
their constituent assembly right under their noses. On 2 August
1891, about 20 Socialists mixed with the crowds climbing Mount
Buzludzha to commemorate the revolutionary leader Hadzhi
Dimitar, who had died there in battle with the Ottomans, in 1868.
Dimitar Blagoev's small group, which adopted the first statutes
of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party, or BSDP, remained
unnoticed; simply one of the many groups of young enthusiasts
who had come to attend the remembrance ceremony.
In the following years, the BDSP grew in prominence, and
entered parliament. In 1903, the party split into a reformist
"broad" wing and a radical "narrow" branch, which became
increasingly committed to Bolshevik ideas and changed its name
to the Bulgarian Communist Party, or BKP. In 1944, it finally seized
power, later cementing its position with the notorious Article One
of the 1971 Constitution: "The leading force in the country and
society is the Bulgarian Communist Party."
In 1981, Bulgaria was feverishly spending millions of leva to
subsidise its megalomaniacal projects for the celebration of the
1,300th anniversary of the Bulgarian state. Significantly, the BKP
wanted to underline that Bulgaria was not only an ancient but
also a Communist country. The public had to be manipulated
into believing that the BKP "crowned" 1,300 years of Bulgarian
statehood. So, the BKP decided to build a monument on Mount
Buzludzha. It had to be truly colossal, blending the idea of
Bulgarian patriotism with the commemoration of the 90th
anniversary of Blagoev's party.
The project cost over 14 million leva, an enormous sum
in those days when the starting wages of an engineer
or a schoolteacher amounted to about 120 leva. As the
government did not have the cash, it resorted to "voluntary
donations," a euphemism coined to explain the 50 stotinki
deducted from the salaries of all taxpaying Bulgarians each
month. The huge construction work cost next to nothing. The
men toiling on the scaffolds were unpaid soldiers from the
so-called Construction Corps. Several died in work accidents,
but no commemorative plaque was erected for them, as the
regime tried to hide any hint of "demoralising" information
from the public.

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The final result was stunning. The "monument" was

instantly dubbed The Flying Saucer, and the anonymous
person who coined the term did so with good reason. The
building, designed by architect Georgi Stoilov, embodied both
absolute authority and Communist luxury, with its sumptuous
chandeliers and 2001 A Space Odyssey interior. The diameter of
the congress hall was 42 metres and it was more than 14 metres
high. It was decorated with 500 square metres of mosaics, and
more covered the walls of the corridors. Two five-pointed stars,
each 15 metres high and made from artificial rubies imported
from the USSR, shone from the pylon.
The decoration of the monument took more than 60 artists
18 months to complete.
Ironically, the mountain top monstrosity that was supposed to
shine upon happy Communist Bulgaria forever did not last long.
When the winds of democracy swept through the East bloc at the
end of the 1980s, the BKP changed itself in name if not in essence,
becoming the Bulgarian Socialist Party, or BSP; in 1990. In 1992,
ownership of The Flying Saucer passed to the state through
the Nationalisation of Bulgarian Communist Party Property Act.
In 2011, the BSP restored its property rights to the monument.
Significantly, even when it was in power during the last 25 years
of Bulgarian democracy, the BSP did nothing to maintain the
building, which explains its current surreal dereliction.
Today, when you follow the official brown signs to Mount
Buzludzha, you will find only traces of its erstwhile opulence.
The building is as oppressive sizewise as it always has been, but
it is falling to pieces. The stars are a wreck: some people shot at
them with handguns to steal the "rubies," only to find that they
were worthless coloured glass. The windows were smashed and
all their aluminium frames taken away and sold for scrap years
ago. The entrance doors are all bricked up now to prevent entry,
as the building is listed as dangerous. Unfortunately, your last
chance to see the shattered mosaics portraying Marx, Engels,

Clockwise, from top left: A sculpture, supposed to show two hands holding
torches, has been dubbed the Ice Cream Cones; An extraterrestrial landing
on the Stara Planina?; A gigantic mosaic depicting Friedrich Engels, Karl
Marx and Lenin; The main entrance to the building has been boarded up
for safety reasons; Huge mosaics showing happy Socialist workers; The
meadows around the monument are a favourite trotting ground for local
horses

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Lenin and Georgi Dimitrov, next to hundreds of jolly Bulgarian

workers and bosomy Bulgarian women, may have gone.
The dereliction does not, however, stop the modern BSP
from gathering thousands of its supporters every year at the
beginning of August in the so-called Historical Meadow, to
mark the anniversary of the foundation of their party with
rousing speeches, popular music and grilled kebapcheta.
For a truly unique experience however, visit Mount Buzludzha
at night, when the starry heavens above you make the
monument really resemble a flying saucer.

Previous spread: Buzludzha's main hall is 42 metres in diameter and 14.5

metres in height. It contains at least 550 square metres of mosaics depicting
the history of the Bulgarian Communist Party

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Walking on fire
Strandzha's nestinari recreate millennia-old
ecstatic rites amalgamating paganism and Christianity

The unusual, almost Native American-like drum rhythm and

the bagpipe tunes echo over the silent crowd gathered around
a large circle of live embers glowing in the dark. A tiny group
of barefoot men and women dressed in traditional costumes
dance slowly at the edge of the circle, holding icons draped in
embroidered kerchiefs.
"They are in a trance," says one of the onlookers.
"No, they are afraid," whispers another.
One of the barefoot women raises her icon and quickly steps
into the fire. There is a collective gasp from the audience, but
the woman is oblivious. Her feet move expertly, treading firmly
on the embers. She walks quickly but with tiny steps, holding
the icon close to her breast, circles and then crosses the fire. The
others follow, their icons raised high, their feet nimbly tramping
upon the embers. The firedancers come and go, some leave
after a short time, others linger, the drum and the bagpipe
repeat again and again the simple yet mesmerising melody,
until the last of the nestinari leaves the fire.
The dances of nestinari, or firewalkers, have been the staple
show of "traditional" restaurants targeted at package tourists
on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast since the sunset days of
Communism. What you see in these programmes is what
you see in tourist areas around the world when taken to the
obligatory "traditional" show, such as Thai kickboxing, Turkish
dervish-whirling or Tunisian wedding reenactments. The
customs have been so commercialised that it is hard to believe
that the real thing still exists, and takes place a couple of times a
year far from the tourist crowds.

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One of the places where nestinarstvo, or genuine Bulgarian

firewalking, is still alive is the Strandzha, the oak-covered
mountain range on the border with Turkey. Its isolation, lack
of economic development and its traditionalism that blends
the Christian and the pagan have made it possible to preserve
the firewalking tradition that is not unique to Bulgaria, but
that has successfully been included in the UNESCO world
heritage lists.
The most popular nestinari event takes place in the village
of Balgari, on the evening of 21 May, the day of Ss Constantine
and Helena. Another celebration of firewalking happens
13days later, on the evening of 2 June. Why this is so is a very
long and complex story that has to do with the extremely
complicated mathematical computations regarding the Julian
calendar, which was used in Bulgaria until the First World
War, and the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in
1916 when Bulgarians went to bed on 1 April and woke up on
14April.
No one knows when and how firedancing appeared in what is
now the Bulgarian part of the Strandzha. Ancient sources mention
heathen firewalkers in the 1st-3rd centuries, but these lived in the
Apennine Peninsula and Asia Minor, not in the Balkans.
The earliest records for nestinari in southeastern Thrace,
where the Strandzha is, are from the 19th Century.

An elderly Strandzha woman wafts incense over the icons of Ss Constantine

and Helena before a firewalking rite

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At that time, firewalking was already popular in the area.

It was practiced in several villages, and although its name is
Greek by origin, from anastenaria, it was performed by nonGreeks, too. Nestinari were mostly women, and they danced
on glowing embers not only on the day of Ss Constantine and
Helena, but also during the feasts of saints such as John the
Baptist, Elijah and Marina. Unsurprisingly, the nestinari were
thought to possess occult powers. "It is almost a sect," a witness
wrote in the early 20th Century, "although they don't want to
proselytise."
Every detail related to nestinarstvo is important and treated
in keeping with tradition. Take, for example, the icons. These
are not the usual fare you see in Bulgarian Orthodox churches.
They inevitably portray two people, the Roman Emperor
Constantine who moved the capital of the empire from Rome
to Constantinople and introduced Christianity as an official
religion, and his mother Helena, who is said to have found
the true cross of Jesus Christ. On non-firewalking days, these
icons are kept not in church, but in what the people of the
Strandzha refer to as konaks, small outhouses kept locked
for most of the year. Inside, the likenesses of Constantine of
Helena remain dressed up in "clothes" except when they
are taken out to a nearby brook (predictably, with healing
powers), "undressed," and washed in the running water. Then
follows a traditional meal with plenty of rakiya for the whole
village while the icons dry on makeshift outdoor stands called
odarche.
The 1912-1913 Balkan Wars and the exchange of populations
between Bulgaria and Greece changed firewalking forever.
Ethnic Greeks from the Black Sea coast and the Strandzha
resettled in Greece, bringing nestinarstvo with them,
most notably to the village of Langada, near modern-day
Thessaloniki. The fire dances there take place each year on
20and 21 May.
The next wave of changes came with Communism. Initially,
the Communist Party apparatchiks persecuted nestinarstvo as
a "dark superstition." The fire dances stopped. By the 1960s the
rite was practiced only in the village of Balgari, in secret and
away from the watchful eyes of the authorities.

Previous spread: Lighting the fire for firewalking is a complicated affair,

which can take several hours

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Firewalking, which had survived through harsh times of war

and ethnic cleansing was about to became extinct.
In the 1970s, however, historians began to reevaluate the
heritage of the Strandzha as the last stronghold of the culture
and beliefs of the ancient Thracians. Interest in nestinarstvo
intensified. About the same time, commercial nestinari started
appearing at seaside resorts.
It was only in 1990, after the collapse of Communism, that the
original rite was reestablished in Balgari.
Obviously, what the uninitiated find most amazing about
nestinarstvo is how you can walk on fire without getting your
feet burned. The physiological explanation is quite simple: do
it fast, and keep your toes tight together to avoid an ember
getting inside. However, the people of the Strandzha will tell
you a host of very different stories.
Traditionally, none other than Ss Constantine and Helena
themselves protect firewalkers by pouring invisible water onto
the fire. To ensure this happens, no one would go into the fire
without holding an icon. If someone does get burned, which
may happen sometimes, the interpretation has to do with sin.
Devoted nestinari have strong feelings about sin and
anything that might contaminate their souls. They must enter
the fire "cleansed," which usually involves some meditation
before the actual firedancing.
The origins of the nestinari dance are unclear. According to
a popular theory, the nestinarstvo is the Christianised version
of a much older Thracian rite devoted to the omnipotent,
but nameless, Great God and Great Goddess. Waking on fire
combines the main features of these deities Darkness, Cold
and Water associated with the Goddess and Heat, Light, and
Fire possessed by the God. That this theory may be valid is
indicated by the nestinari belief that Constantine and Helena
were actually man and wife, rather than mother and son, just as
the Great God and Goddess were thought to be a couple.
Nestinarstvo may also be explained as a Christianised version
of the ecstatic festivities surrounding the cult of Dionysos, the
Greek God of divine madness provoked by wine, who was also
associated with the Thracians. Firedancing is also probably
related to Shamanism, where priests achieved a trance-like
state in order to connect with spirits and translate their
messages to ordinary people.
The nestinari themselves talk of a great fire that once gutted
the church in Kosti, one of the villages in the Strandzha where

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nestinarstvo is practiced. People gathered around, unable to

do anything to stop the fire. However, the icons inside the
church began to scream with human voices, and some villagers
entered the flames and soon emerged unscathed with the icons
in their arms, protected by the powers of the icons they had
saved.
The church in Kosti is a curiosity in itself. Originally built
by Greeks, it was named after Ss Constantine and Helena. It
was destroyed in 1909 and soon reerected by Bulgarians who
renamed it Ss Cyril and Methodius the Greeks had left, and
the village was being settled by ethnic Bulgarians from eastern
Thrace.
Curiously, the Orthodox Church objected to nestinarstvo
only relatively recently. In the Middle Ages, unlike other rites
from the heathen past, nestinarstvo was not even mentioned
among the practices banned by the Church, prompting
some researchers to question its very existence at the time.
Much later, in the 19th Century, in spite of "the lack of proper
Christianity" in nestinarstvo, not a priest in the Strandzha would
dare to object to the rite. If he did so, he would be chased out
by his own parishioners.
As late as the 1930s-1940s, when the non-Orthodox
Good Samaritan Society propagated nestinarstvo as a way
of communicating with the divine, the Bulgarian Church
responded by proclaiming it a form of demonic possession.
Today the Church is officially opposed to firewalking, but that
does not prevent local priests from hanging around and making
themselves seen on the days when firewalking is performed.

A firewalking session usually starts with a retinue of bagpipe and drum

players, and local dignitaries

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Though the actual firewalking takes place only twice a year, the locals
attend to their icons and other paraphernalia on various church holidays.
In early June, the icons are removed from their sanctuary, where they are
kept under lock and key throughout the year, taken to a nearby river and
washed in the running water. Bagpipers and drummers form the procession.
This procedure is followed by a mighty feast

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