Issue 200

It has funded over 1,000 projects in all corners of Bulgaria and has reached thousands of people. It provides support to local partners in many areas: from encouraging private enterprise to building democratic institutions and fostering tourism. Nancy Schiller has been the president and CEO of the ABF for the past seven years, and my first question to her as we sit in the beautifully restored ABF office, a fine example of early 20th century architecture in central Sofia, is to briefly describe how ABF started and where it is heading.

When the first issue of Vagabond hit the newsstands, in September 2006, the world and Bulgaria were so different that today it seems as though they were in another geological era. Two economic crises, a pandemic and a war in Europe were still in the future. Bulgaria's Boyko Borisov was just a rising star, not a cunning politician who would rule the country for over a decade. Social media was yet to be born. Targeted advertising was in its infancy. Print media prospered.

If anyone believed that the CC-DB, or Changes Continued-Democratic Bulgaria alliance, who lost the April election and are now the second largest party in the Bulgarian National Assembly, were serious in their declared and oft-repeated pledges they wanted to dismantle what they called Boyko Borisov's "mafia state" must have been in for a a bit of a surprise. According to a twelfth-hour agreement, GERB and the CC-DB announced they would actually become friends (!) in the name of "civilisational choices" and "geopolitical orientation" instead.

One of the emblematic sights associated with Bulgaria is a group of barefoot men and women clad in traditional village costumes dancing over live embers. This is nestinarstvo, or firewalking, a supposedly Christian rite, where firewalkers dance themselves into a trance and eschew the perils of fire.

Now firewalking is performed at tourist locations and even in restaurants, but the only place to see the real thing is in the village of Balgari in the Strandzha. It happens on the night of 3 June, the high day of Ss Constantine and Helena.

What led to that is so complicated and absurd that analysts find it difficult to explain while ordinary people prefer just to laugh it off. Here is the story briefly.

Discovering Bulgaria's landscapes, people and events is rewarding all year round, especially when you leave the beaten track and explore some of the lesser sites. Of course, in high season you can scarcely find anywhere in Bulgaria completely devoid of other visitors, but many places still preserve an atmosphere of novelty for the curious traveller. We have selected some of these on the following pages.

Belogradchik Rocks

Where: Northwestern Bulgaria

What: Bulgaria's own version of the US southwest, plus a fortress

Since yesterday afternoon a drone has been hovering around my terrace and has entered it.

Yasen Todorov, deputy director of the National Investigations Service

I was proposed (someone said, by Boyko Borisov) to become ambassador to Israel or Turkey. I did not take this seriously.

Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev

All the prosecutor general does is talk about me. He thinks I am afraid of him. I  do not get scared easily.

A plant that everyone knows but few have seen in real life: by selecting the oil-bearing rose as its unofficial symbol, Bulgaria has made an odd choice. This particular variety does smell divine but is not particularly beautiful. Its attar is vital for the global cosmetic industry, yet its production and sales make a tiny spec in the Bulgarian GDP.

1. Bulgaria's Black Sea coast has a length of ...

A. 378 km

B. 111,000 km

C. 681 km

2. Which Bulgarian rite has been listed as UNESCO intangible heritage?

A. Kukeri dances

B. Nestinari dances

C. Bulgarian proms

3. What is the second colour in Bulgaria's flag?

A. White

B. Green

C. Red

Of all UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bulgaria, Madara Horseman is most difficult to see.

This is not because Europe's only medieval open-air relief is in an isolated spot that is hard to reach. The Madara Horseman is a short and easy drive from the Hemus motorway, near Shumen. Just beneath the 100 metre high rock where it is carved, there is a new visitor's centre and a viewing platform.

There are no road signs pointing to it and the road itself, which was once asphalt, is slow and tortuous. Yet, you are less than a mile from one of this country's major tourist attractions, and coming down to the water will guarantee a full day of seaside pleasures that will not leave you – pun intended – at sea.