FUN

Though Dead Souls used to be on the national school curriculum, few latterday Bulgarians, and possibly even fewer English speakers, have actually read it, so here is a short synopsis.

It will be easier for us to forge a British rather than a Bulgarian government.

Solomon Pasi, president of the Bulgarian Atlantic Club

Instead of getting worse, the situation is becoming hopeless.

Former Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov just before he was elected speaker of the new National Assembly

Having a government just for the winter sounds like having a girlfriend just for the summer.

Radan Kanev, EMP

It is a tomb, possibly belonging to a king, elaborately decorated with frescoes and sculptures of women. Made of limestone, the women have disproportionate bodies, intricately carved dresses and sturdy faces with wide-opened eyes, which mesmerise. Discovered in 1982, these are without a match in the ancient world of the Thracians. In 1985 UNESCO inscribed the site on its World Heritage List.

1. Which Bulgarian mountain runs west to east?

A. The Rila

B. The Vitosha

C. The Stara Planina

2. In 1989, Bulgarian Communism collapsed on...

A. 1 November

B. 10 November

C. 20 November

3. Which town is famed for its old clocktower?

A. Tryavna

B. Targovishte

C. Tutrakan

The Flying Saucer, which in recent years has become one of the Top 10 world monuments for urbex, or dark tourism, was constructed in the early 1980s. It was designed to celebrate the Bulgarian Communist Party, in control of this country from 1944 to 1989. It was supposed to withstand the ravishes of both time and nature for several hundred years, as the Communists, who had commissioned it, thought they would be in power eternally.

Generations of East Europeans grew up with Doc, Mack, Dora Flood, Lee Chong and the boys, and though few if any could set foot in the real California they imagined Monterey and Salinas epitomised exactly the opposite of what their own drab lives held for them under Communism. Steinbeck got the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 and died in 1969, but his books continued to be read across the former East bloc in general and Bulgaria in particular. 

1. What major historical event took place in September 1944?

A. Liberation from the Ottomans

B. Communist coup

C. Transition to democracy

2. The name of Sofia's neighbourhood Mladost means...

A. Youth

B. Friendship

C. Hope

3. Where can you see a 295-metre-long Ottoman bridge?

A. Silistra

B. Svishtov

If they were in Rome, Kiril Petkov and Asen Vasilev would put Brutus at the top of their ballots.

Slavi Trifonov, leader of the There Is Such a People party

We are brutally attacked by organsied criminals who want to stop us from taking their money.

Kiril Petkov, Changes Continued

I have never lied to the Bulgarians, this is why they kept electing me for years.

Boyko Borisov, GERB

Originally it was erected in Late Antiquity-Early Middle Ages, but was almost completely destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15th century. So, what it is that you see today?

The current construction has little if anything to do with the erstwhile fortification despite claims to the contrary. It was built from scratch in the 2010s using EU money meant to boost regional growth and sustainable development.

In early June a small plane flew into Bulgarian airspace from the northwest and landed at what used to be a commercial airport near Vidin. Apparently, the aircraft refuelled. It is unclear whether the pilot or pilots got any on-the-ground assistance from anyone or just poured fuel into the plane's tank from canisters. Guards from a private security company that was supposed to protect the ruins of Vidin Airport, which was abandoned in the 1990s, noticed the activity and alerted the local police. But the aircraft was quicker. She took off before the police arrived.