In the past two centuries, geography, politics and moments of national triumph and tragedy have defined the borders of Bulgaria. The current territory of the Bulgarian nation appeared after the Berlin Congress in 1879, stretched and contracted during and after several wars in 1885-1886, 1912-1913 and 1915-1918, and peacefully set into its current shape in 1940.
Situated in the plains in southeastern Bulgaria Yambol is generally off any tourist map. Few Bulgarians would visit unless they have grandparents or friends living in one of the most depressed post-Communist cities in the country. Except for a weekend in late February/early May when the town host Kukerlandia, when a major festival of mummers attracts national and, increasingly, international interest and participation.
Digital advertisement is everywhere nowadays, but it – and customers' behaviour, is changing so rapidly that even established companies and brands struggle to utilise fully its potential. Radoslav Nedelchev, Chief Operating Officer for Dentsu Aegis Network Bulgaria, and his team are fluent in the language of modern advertisement.
Walking around Central Sofia is like walking nowhere else, notwithstanding the incredibly uneven pavements. A mixture of buildings in a range of time periods and styles define the Bulgarian capital: Roman fortifications and early-Christian buildings rub walls with medieval churches, former Ottoman mosques and fine fin-de-siècle residential houses. Over these loom monstrous buildings in the Stalinist Baroque style and soulless glass-and-concrete concoctions built after the 1990s.
"This is a reality show in the field of criminal justice."
Zdravka Kalaydzhieva, former judge at the European Court of Human Rights on tapping the Bulgarian President
"Everyone is very polite with me these days."
Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev
"We have come to a understanding with Geshev to crush anything alive that pollutes."
When spring in Bulgaria is in full swing, something marvellous happens. At night, songbirds go crazy. When darkness descends, nightingales, orioles, larks and gold finches sing, chirp and improvise for hours, as if their lives depended on it, creating a symphony celebrating life itself.
In the empty apartment, he took a shower and looked for a piece of paper and a pen. He found an orange BIC, yellowed graph paper and sat down to write. He hadn't written for years.
Clinical Picture of Nostalgia:
Onset period: Since the beginning of eternity.
Vulnerable groups: Homo Sapiens, of various ages and gender.
Present focus: recently prefers Eastern Europe.
Anamnesis vitae:
The massive stone crosses that centuries ago used to be the graveyard of Garlo village, in the region of Pernik, poke out from the undergrowth, a poignant sight that we have covered several times in Vagabond.
This time we are in this picturesque, atmospheric and overlooked part of Bulgaria for another reason: to search for one of this country's most enigmatic archaeological finds.