Issue 129

CASE OF NDK

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 10:04:10 +0000

CASE OF NDK

text and photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 13:04

Yet another instance of corruption, wise practical decision or new round of political buffoonery?

Here are the facts. Former Construction Minister Lilyana Pavlova, who is now Minister for Bulgaria's Presidency of the EU, fired the general manager of the National Palace of Culture, or NDK, Miroslav Borshosh. Pavlova, who used to belong to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's inner circle but is now seen as being demoted to what in effect will be just a temporary ministry, cited massive wrongdoing for her decision. She said the planned reconstruction works to modernise the huge building in central Sofia lagged behind. The NDK operated without a business plan, without an investment programme, with no rules for public contracts, and had amassed losses amounting to about 20 million leva. Furthermore Borshosh, according to Pavlova who cited numerous facts and figures, failed to deliver a plan to surmount the financial difficulties which he should have done by the middle of June.

Miroslav Borshosh's political career dates back to 2001 when he was elected leader of the youth wing of the now non-existent SDS, or Union of Democratic Forces, the original anti-Communist organisation in Bulgaria post-1989. He later owned a newspaper called Novinar and an Internet news site, both of which are now defunct. It is thought that his business interests in the media intertwined with those of Delyan Peevski, the MP for the DPS, or Movement for Rights and Freedoms, a media magnate, and the man whose appointment to a top security job in 2013 unleashed the mass street protests that eventually brought down the Oresharski government. Significantly, Borshosh is obviously on good terms with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov: back in 2005 he was in the public committee in support of Borisov's candidature for mayor of Sofia. In 2013 he was the producer of a Bulgarian National Television series about the 1943 rescue of the Bulgarian Jews, for which he had received a major state subsidy. There are reports that the cash was given to Borshosh after a direct intervention by the Office of the Prime Minister even though his script did not do well at the BNT public contest. Since 2014 Borshosh has been the general manager of the NDK.
Borshosh replied to Lilyana Pavlova's charges that he was opposed to implementing public contracts imposed on him.

On the following day Prime Minister Boyko Borisov reversed Pavlova's decision. Borshosh was reappointed as general manager of the NDK. Borisov then "took" the NDK from the auspices of Pavlova's ministry and "gave" it to the Culture Ministry.

In the face of this humiliation Pavlova, however, did not resign. Instead she said she was no longer interested in the NDK as she was no longer overseeing it.

Borshosh was jubilant. He thanked the prime minister profusely and intoned: "Culture has won!"

A day later, Borshosh decided to "step down" until the investigation of his handling of the NDK's finances, which had started in February 2017, was over. A new man, Angel Mitev, who headed a construction company within the Culture Ministry to restore old buildings and archaeological sites, was appointed.

Tsvetan Tsvetanov, GERB's second man, stepped in. He said on TV there was no scandal, not even a hint of it at the top of GERB. There were only "good policies" being implemented by GERB that GERB's political opponents wanted to derail by claiming the prime minister had fallen out with his former confidante, the minister for the EU presidency.

Of course, the tabloid newspapers and the Internet sites immediately seized the story, using the usual mixture of bits of truth, half-truths and outright lies. Some alleged Boyko Borisov had again backtracked in fear new instances of wrongdoing at the NDK would emerge and he did not want to compromise himself too much by continuing to support Borshosh. Others reported anonymous sources as saying some EU ambassadors had intervened threatening their prime ministers would not be attending EU Council meetings in a building so heavily entangled in corrupt practices.

Allegations, speculations, real and fake news, and conspiracy theories so beloved in Bulgaria of the 2010s, there are a few facts that raise a few questions that no one has so far answered:

Why did Prime Minister Boyko Borisov reappoint Miroslav Borshosh as the general manager of the NDK if a senior minister in his government, Lilyana Pavlova, had produced a detailed catalogue containing facts and figures of wrongdoing? If her charges are correct and the prime minister acted in spite of them, why did the National Assembly not fire him instead?

If the detailed catalogue produced by Lilyana Pavlova was wrong, then it was a lie. Why did not the prime minister fire his minister for telling him lies of that magnitude?

How can a senior government minister, Lilyana Pavlova, in charge of Bulgaria's EU presidency, no longer be interested in the NDK, a major building where most of the EU presidency events are scheduled to be held in 2018, only because she is no longer overseeing it?

Last but not least, Borshosh's words are also important. Culture has won, Borshosh said. Who or what has culture won over?

Significantly, the NDK episode indicates the way the affairs of the state and management of public property are being conducted by GERB's top leadership. An increasing number of Bulgarians tend to consider it just political buffoonery, with the prime minister appearing as a deus ex machina in some "hot" situations to administer justice over the heads of his mortal ministers.

Yet GERB is here to stay. Commanding a parliamentary majority in the National Assembly with the support of the extreme nationalists calling themselves United Patriots Boyko Borisov will probably be around for quite some time, at least until Bulgaria does become the rotating president of the EU in 2018. At least this is GERB's plan.

Issue 129

BULGARIA POLITICS

Add new comment

'GREAT WALL OF BULGARIA'

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 10:02:25 +0000

'GREAT WALL OF BULGARIA'

text and photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 13:02

Barbed-wire fence now stretches all the way from Rezovo at Black Sea to Svilengrad

The barbed-wire fence supposed to prevent refugees from entering the EU's poorest member state, Bulgaria, is almost ready. After about four years of construction work, the roughly 240-kilometre fence now proudly stands in the middle of the Strandzha forest, in what is supposed to be a nature park. Its usefulness is disputable and there are ongoing allegations of misappropriation and wrongdoing.

The Fence, as it has become known in Bulgarian daily language, has a long and controversial history spanning almost six decades.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s what was then Communist Bulgaria built a barbed-wire fence along most of its southern and western borders. Greece and especially Turkey were then NATO enemies, the whole Bulgarian military doctrine was focused on a "probable" attack by the West. Tito's Yugoslavia to the west was mistrusted. Though it was a Communist country as well, Tito had just quarrelled with Stalin and embarked on his non-aligned path. Bulgaria would remain firmly pro-Soviet up until 1989. That first fence was not just some barbed wire hanging from poles though. It was an element of an intricate system of defence fortifications, patrolled by conscript soldiers under orders to shoot to kill anyone trying to cross either way.

Officially, the purpose of the early fence was to stop any incursion from capitalist Turkey and Greece. In reality, however, it was meant to stop any Bulgarian or other East European refugee fleeing into democratic Turkey and Greece. In those days Turkey was West.

The collapse of Communism and the East bloc in 1989 led to immediate liberalisation in the other former Warsaw Pact countries and to gradual and at times painful attempts at democratisation in Bulgaria. The fence was affected. Bulgarians were now free to travel and the politicians of the 1990s saw no further need for a barbed-wire fence. The barbed wire and the poles were first abandoned and then dismantled. In many cases the wire was stolen to be sold by impoverished Bulgarians for scrap metal.

However, in the late 2000s Bulgaria's new politicians hardened their stance in an attempt to funnel the growing public nostalgia for Communism and the perceived need for a "hard hand" to tackle the country's problems. Initially, the Council of Ministers made a decision to erect a new fence to prevent the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease that Bulgarian politicians said was coming from across the border with Turkey. Plans were made, funds were allocated, but the project went nowhere.

Then came the war in Syria, an erstwhile ally of Communist Bulgaria and a country where many Bulgarian specialists of the Communist-era generation sought work because their salaries would be paid in dollars. Millions of refugees penetrated Turkey. Some of them wanted to go on into Europe. Bulgaria was in the way.

Bulgaria's increasingly nationalist politicians saw a good chance to deflect the growing public discontent with the embattled reforms and low living standards into a mass hysteria building on the fear the country would be overrun by Muslim criminals, rapists and terrorists. The fact was that the trickle of asylumseekers entering legally or illegally was negligible compared to what Greece and Italy experienced. But with the help of the media the politicians made their point. A new, modern fence was badly and urgently needed to stop anyone from entering.

Plans were drawn, the cash (most of it coming from the EU) was secured. Building the new fence started in 2013, under the short-lived and ill-fated government of Plamen Oresharski. Some 30 kilometres of it were built in the easiest part of the terrain, in the plain near Svilengrad. The government then declared the project of national security significance, which meant it could pick its contractors without a public bid.

The Oresharski government was overthrown following mass street protests in Sofia. Boyko Borisov's GERB returned to power. One of the things it did was amend the Public Works and Contracts Act to enable itself to go on selecting contractors for the fence without a bid. It argued it needed that to be able to complete the fence as a matter of "urgency." That was in 2014. The price of the fence, in the meantime, was going up. It also emerged that some of the constructed sections were already in need of repairs.

Though the new barbed-wire fence was popular with the majority of Bulgarians, some critical voices were also heard. They argued the fence was too easy to penetrate with a simple ladder or a spade. Significantly, erecting a physical barrier to make life more difficult for asylumseekers would only boost the "business" of human smugglers some of whom were connected to the police.

The overwhelming majority of Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country have no intention of staying in Bulgaria. For them it is just a port-of-call, an inevitable stopover on their way to Western Europe, mainly Germany, which has accepted 33 percent of all Syrian war refugees within the EU. The human smuggling business, therefore, is thriving.

The total cost of the fence so far has been 150 million leva.

The fence is now completed save for a short 5-kilometre stretch. Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov of the National Front for the Salvation for Bulgaria is happy. He recently flew over the new fence in a helicopter and reported that everything was OK. According to Slavi's Show, a popular TV programme, he owns a hotel less than a mile from the Malko Tarnovo border checkpoint with Turkey. The hotel is fully booked by… border guards sent from the whole of Bulgaria to catch "migrants."

Issue 129

BULGARIA POLITICS

Add new comment

CHRIST IN SPACE?

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:55:28 +0000

CHRIST IN SPACE?

by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:55

Old fresco in Bulgarian village church depicts 'UFO'

The supposed scene depicting "Christ in a rocket" is in the upper left part of the photo

Christ was an alien. Or if He wasn't, then four centuries ago there were UFOs hovering over what is now southwestern Bulgaria.

If you believe the hype, evidence that aliens visited us in the past, probably inspiring Christianity, exists hidden in plain sight. In a church. In Bulgaria.

A fresco in a 17th century church in Dobarsko village, near Bansko, is said to represent Christ in a space rocket, in the Transfiguration scene.

Even the website of the National History Museum, which features Ss Theodor Thyron and Theodor Stratilatus, embraces the idea. It describes Christ as a "cosmonaut" (the term for astronaut used in Soviet times) who "flies up to Heaven in an object quite similar to a modern space rocket spurting fire. Under Christ’s feet, the outlines of the atmosphere and stratosphere are visible."

The fresco of Christ as an astronaut is the main reason why tourists, mostly those staying in Bansko, visit Dobarsko, a small village at the foot of the Rila mountain.

Dobarsko was not always so small and quiet. In the 14th century, when it was known by the curious name of Gnidobradsko, or Nit-Bearded, it was rich enough for Bulgarian King Ivan Shishman to include it in a large donation of lands and settlements to Rila Monastery. Under the Ottomans, the village prospered through animal husbandry, while its name gradually transformed into Nedobarsko and then Dobarsko (the latter became official in 1912).

The people of Dobarsko were so prosperous that in 1614 six of them had enough wealth to commission the construction of a brand new church for the community, the Ss Theodore Tyron and Theodore Stratelates.

On the outside, the church does not strike as being particularly interesting or ornate. Built in the times when Christians had to observe the regulations of the Ottoman Empire, it is small, low and squat, but what the builders were not allowed to do on the outside they compensated for inside.

The murals have not been restored since their creation in the 17th century. The only intervention through the years was a clean-up of candle smoke sooth, in the 1970s

The floor was dug out to allow for a higher ceiling, and the interior was divided into several parts. Every square centimetre of the walls and arches was covered with vivid frescoes to a dizzying extent.

The frescoes abound with real or alleged peculiarities. Different sources claim that the church boasts the largest number of depictions of donors, or of saints, or of women in a Bulgarian Christian building of the period. Another peculiarity is the preference either the donors, or the anonymous artists had for soldier saints, including not only the patron saints Theodore Tyron and Theodore Stratelates, but also St George and St Demetrius. This might be explained by a legend. After the Byzantine Emperor Basil II won his last battle against the Bulgarian King Samuil, in 1014, he blinded the captured Bulgarian soldiers and, so the legend goes, some of them got lost on their way home and found themselves in Dobarsko. They washed their empty eye sockets in the spring by the local church, and their sight was miraculously restored. They then settled there and established a music school for blind children, which lasted for centuries.

None of the peculiarities in the church of Dobarsko, however, can surpass the Christ-in-a-Rocket picture.

Here He is: a tall figure surrounded by a halo in the shape of a distorted rhombus. Is He really evidence that aliens were behind Christianity? Were Erich von Däniken and his ilk right all along?

No.

Anyone familiar with Byzantine iconography, which was and still is followed by the Bulgarian church and its icon painters, knows that the strange shapes around Christ in Transfiguration scenes have nothing to do with space ships and UFOs. They represent His divine light and are a part of the canon, although the painter was free to choose which shape to give it. Some preferred lenticular halos, other opted for rhomboid ones. The anonymous artist in the Dobarsko church opted for a more untraditional shape, but he was nevertheless following a canon that even in the 17th century was very old.

The "space theory" for Dobarsko's Transfiguration scene might be compelling, but surrounding Christ with strange geometrical shapes is a part of the Orthodox canon's way of depicting what the Gospels describe as "His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2)

Reportedly, the Christ-in-a-Rocket tale started in the 1970s or the 1980s, when the then Soviet ambassador visited the church and noted that the Transfiguration looked like a rocket with an astronaut (he would have said "cosmonaut," though). This extravagant idea took off and is still making the rounds, thanks to the Internet.

It is somewhat sad, because Ss Theodore Tyron and Theodore Stratelates hardly needs such a type of advertisement. It is beautiful and intriguing enough to warrant a visit without all the fantasies of Christ as an astronaut.

The altar of the church is also a rarity, as it has two doors instead of the usual three. The names of the main sponsors of the construction are written on the main icons. Ss Theodore Tyron and Theodore Stratelates is now a museum. The local community uses for religious purposes a neighbouring church, built in 1860

Dobarsko offers marvellous vistas to the Pirin

High Beam is a series of articles, 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. The statements and opinionsexpressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and its partners.

Issue 129 America for Bulgaria Foundation Religions in Bulgaria Rural Bulgaria Revival Period

HIGH BEAM

Comments

Submitted by Edward Jivkov :Radev (not verified) Thu, 01/19/2023 - 12:40

It’s not a rocket

That my friends is a 12-Dimensional Mahunta phase Kristos Merkaba Vehicle. Otherwise known as a Cruxansatea Eckasha Tri Veca Merkaba Vehicle. Two 6-pointed cones. It’s based on the cones spin ratio 33.3333333 Electric cone, 11.6666667 Magnetic cone, Differential state 21.6666666 (trillion revolutions per nano-second). It allows for Tri-Vector 45° travel through time/space. Look at the configuration of a Cuboctohedron from a 45° angle. “Only through me shall you get to the father.” A cuboctohedron is made of a sphere split into 8 quadrants. At a 45° isometric angle you can see a hexagon plane form. Rotate that hexagon 90° 4 times and you create a Cuboctohedron. The “Tri-cube” we live in. This Cruxansatea (Ankh) is a natural part of human anatomy that we can no longer integrate. It’s not a UFO or Rocket.

Add new comment

KNOW THINE HISTORY

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:54:36 +0000

KNOW THINE HISTORY

by Stamen Manolov

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:54

Bulgaria's extreme nationalism, whose main perpetrators are now in government, sometimes assumes wacky proportions.

In the past several months the political establishment of GERB, supported by the loose alliance of ultranationalists identifying themselves as "united patriots," has been ruthless in condemning and eradicating anything that might smack of "anti-Bulgarianness." Of course, no one but GERB's leaders and their nationalist pals can define what Bulgarianness means. It may range from wearing baggy 19th century peasant trousers and fur hats to more "refined" 21st century Bulgarian "virtues" such as being anti-cosmopolitan, anti-liberal and of course anti-gay.

History the way the nationalists understand and interpret it is a major part of this typically Balkan concoction, and the latest manifestation came when Prime Minister Boyko Borisov abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting with the former world chess champion, Anatoly Karpov, now a pro-Putin MP in Moscow. Karpov's misdemeanour? He said the alphabet used in Russia went to that country from… Byzantium.

Modern Bulgarians were unable to swallow what they considered to be a major historical slur against Bulgarianness because the Cyrillic alphabet was created within the borders of 10th century Bulgaria.

The Karpov incident has a background. Earlier, no one lesser than Putin himself made a public statement to the effect that the Cyrillic alphabet had reached the Russian lands from… Macedonia. In this way he instantly alienated himself even from his staunchest supporters in Bulgaria because no one here seriously thinks there is any such thing as a Macedonian nation or language, not to mention an alphabet.

So, next time you are planning to come to Bulgaria and especially if you have a scheduled appointment with the prime minister, think twice before answering any reporters' questions such as whose alphabet is this or do you think there ever was a "Turkish yoke."

To be prepared, just in case, know exactly what Byzantium means, what its relationship with the Roman Empire, on the one hand, and the Bulgars on the other was. Learn about Kliment of Ohrid and his disciples Naum and Angelariy. And of course be very sure that what in 2017 is known as the Republic of Macedonia is called the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia (or just Skopje) in Greece, and that it has nothing to do with Alexander the Great and his father Philip of Macedon, who lived in the 4th century BC, even though the Skopje airport proudly bears the name of Alexander. Confused? You may well be. But unless you know all that, you may be given a very rough ride.

Of course, the Karpov-Borisov incident may have a simpler explanation. Borisov, who considers himself to be a great sportsman and dabbles in anything from tennis to football, dislikes being beaten. In all likelihood he may have got cold feet that he might be defeated at the chess table by the former world champion, and to save face he just cancelled. But it is always good to have a "patriotic" motive for a cancellation.

Issue 129

JOKE OF THE MONTH

Add new comment

SECRETS OF MAGURATA CAVE

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:48:40 +0000

SECRETS OF MAGURATA CAVE

by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:48

Travelling in Bulgaria's Northwest, particularly in early summer when the greenery is still fresh, tempts you to explore the outdoors: the magnificence of the Belogradchik Rocks, the might of the mountains around Vratsa, the slow flow of the Danube past the walls of Vidin fortress.

However, when travelling in this region, you should not forego the opportunity to peer into the dark, mysterious underground.

Magurata Cave, about 18km northwest of Belogradchik, is a place that takes you not only far from the sun, but also far back into the past.

Formed about 12 million years ago, Magurata is 2,500m long and is one of Bulgaria's largest caves. Its caverns and halls are filled with impressive stalactites, stalagmites and stone columns, including what is said to be the largest stalagmite in Bulgaria. It is called the Fallen Fir, and is 11m long, with a diameter of 6m at the base. A thriving colony of eight species of bat call the cave home, inhabiting a particularly isolated corner of the so-called Concert Hall.

Add to this the curious fact that a winery uses parts of the cave for the storage of sparkling wine, and you have reasons enough to visit Magurata, although this is not the whole story.

Magurata is the only cave in Bulgaria with rock art. A particularly extensive example of rock art.

The drawings in Magurata can be counted in the hundreds: crude black figures made of bat guano, representing hunting men, dancing women, and sex, as well as about a dozen animal species, some of which would be considered exotic for modern Bulgaria, such as the giraffe and an ostrich-like creature. There are many symbols, some resembling suns, but others with strange, indistinguishable shapes.

The Magurata graffiti lack the colours, realism and exquisiteness of better known examples of palaeolithic cave art such as those at Lascaux and Chauvet, which are between 30,000-17,000 years old and date from the time when people were hunter-gatherers traversing the expanses of Ice Age Europe.

Those in Bulgaria, however, still exude a vivacity and a mesmerising energy.

According to archaeological research, the Magurata drawings are younger than those at Lascaux and Chauvet, and belong to the Chalcolithic period about 4,800BC, when the climate was warmer, people were already settled agrarians and farmers, and had discovered how to make copper tools. A community took up residence in Magurata at that time, and they were the first to start covering its walls with drawings. As time passed, the drawings multiplied, and this continued until 3,600BC, the time of the Bronze Age. After this, for some reason, the cave was abandoned.

Magurata's most famous scene includes recognisable human activities like hunting, but its upper part provokes the imagination. Why have these women raised their arms? Do they dance? Do they pray? If yes, to whom? The men with erect penises among them suggest that the scene might represent a fertility rite. Or perhaps not

The drawings at Magurata have been interpreted as depictions of everyday life and religious rituals, probably ones including the Great Goddess, a popular deity in prehistoric and pagan Bulgaria.

A group of enthusiasts, however, dispute the official history of the cave, claiming that the drawings are much older. According to their alternative research, they were made between about 40,000 and 12,000 years ago, and they served as a cosmic calendar and a type of prehistoric alphabet. The drawings tell a narrative, the claim goes, that stretches for millennia.

Whatever the true meaning of the Magurata drawings, seeing them in person will definitely be one of the highlights of your trip in the Northwest. Until not that long ago, access to the drawings was denied, but today you can see them, if you pay for the extra ticket at the entrance to the cave.

The mysteries of Magurata do not end with the drawings. Near the cave is Rabishko Lake, Bulgaria's only tectonic lake, which was formed by the shifting of plates. It is crystal clear, and there are no natural outlets to drain it. This has provided fuel for local legends. According to one, the lake is bottomless, while another says that a network of underground caverns and tunnels connect it with the Timok river. A third story goes that a monster with a bull's head lives in the lake, the offspring of a dragon that used to inhabit Magurata. Just like its more famous counterpart, the Loch Ness monster, the monster of Rabishko Lake has a monicker derived from the name of its home. Of course, it is called Rabi.

The mysteries of the Magurata drawings have inevitably attracted the attention of alternative historians. They claim that the graffiti are somehow connected with ancient Sumer, Noah's Arch, Buddhism, Christianity, Tantrism and so on

The circle in this scene is a prehistoric calendar, according to some

In spite of their primitivity, or because of it, Magurata drawings are strangely beguiling

Magurata's prehistoric drawings are so fascinating that it is easy to forget that the cave has also a significant collection of stalagmites, stalactites and stone columns

Issue 129 America for Bulgaria Foundation Nature Prehistory Bulgaria Archaeology Bulgaria

HIGH BEAM

Add new comment

WHICH CITY DOES NOT HAVE MINERAL SPRINGS?

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:45:27 +0000

WHICH CITY DOES NOT HAVE MINERAL SPRINGS?

by Bozhidara Georgieva

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:45

Think you know Bulgaria and the Bulgarians? Take our test to doublecheck

1. Which Bulgarian city was founded by Greek colonists thousands of years ago?
A. Ruse
B. Nesebar
C. Troyan

2. Which Bulgarian river has a native sturgeon population?
A. The Iskar
B. The Maritsa
C. The Danube

3. Which Bulgarian poet became the namesake of a football team?
A. Hristo Botev
B. Peyo Yavorov
C. Ivan Vazov

4. What is not a typical stuffing for Banitsa?
A. Spinach
B. White cheese
C. Carrot

5. In Bulgaria, the white water lily is…
A. Critically endangered species
B. Species not in danger of extinction
C. Extinct species

6. Under Communism, which cars were assembled in Bulgaria?
A. Mercedes
B. Renault
C. Volvo

7. What part of Bulgaria's GDP is produced in Sofia?
A. About 40 percent
B. About 30 percent
C. About 20 percent

8. Where is the Devil's Bridge?
A. In the Rhodope
B. On Trakiya motorway
C. In central Plovdiv

9. Which city does not have mineral springs?
A. Sofia
B. Burgas
C. Velingrad

The correct answers:
1. – B; 2. – C; 3. – A; 4. – C; 5. – A; 6. – B; 7. – A; 8. – A; 9. – B

Issue 129

BULGARIA'S MONTHLY QUIZ

Add new comment

SUNFLOWER POWER

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:41:35 +0000

SUNFLOWER POWER

by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:41

Travelling in the Bulgarian countryside in the summer is particularly fascinating, for it is then that sunflowers are in full bloom, creating a colourful cacophony with their yellow, orange and brown hues.

Growing in fields that often look endless, they raise their large heads in rows, inspiring the traveller to stop and to release for a minute their inner Van Gogh: photos are taken, bouquets are made and brought home.

Sunflowers have covered Bulgaria for such a long time, and are so ubiquitous, that without them the countryside in early summer would look strange and bereft.

Their beauty, however, is not the main reason for the popularity of sunflowers. This North America native was brought to Bulgaria from Russia, in the years after 1878, initially as a decorative plant. Industrial cultivation went mainstream after the First World War, and sunflowers have remained a staple crop ever since. The country has created several local hybrids, used together with imported ones, and with between 1.2 and 1.4 million acres sown annually, the sunflower is the nation's second most important agricultural crop after wheat. The fact that it does not need special soil or care, and can survive for long periods without water, make sunflowers popular across the country.

According to data as recent as 2014 from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, Bulgaria was the sixth largest producer of sunflower seeds in the world.

Sunflower oil is the primary product of all of the beautiful flowers around Bulgarian country roads. Although it cannot compare in taste, aroma and health benefits with olive oil, it is still tasty and healthy, with a high content of Omega - 9 and Omega - 6 acids, and Vitamin E. It is also cheaper, which accounts for its popularity as the nation's most preferred oil for cooking, baking, frying and dressing salads. The average annual consumption per capita in Bulgaria is 15kg.

The pressed cake, a by - product of the refining process, is also used as a high - calorie and nutritious fodder for farm animals.

As anyone who has spent enough time with real Bulgarians knows, sunflowers provide something more than oil and fodder. Eating their seeds is a favourite past - time of Bulgarians. Their beloved Semki are sold in all shapes and manners: raw, raw and peeled, roasted in a newspaper cone by street vendors, and in colourful packages from dozens of national and regional manufacturers vying for their share of a very competitive market.

Bulgarians really love snacking on sunflower seeds. You can hear the delicate sound of kernels being cracked between teeth and smell the distinctive aroma of sunflower oil near any group of Bulgarians gossiping in front of their homes, watching soaps or football (both at the stadium and on TV), or walking in the park. Sunbathing on the beach, playing cards, reading, or simply comfort eating are all opportunities to consume sunflower seeds – even walking on the street. Visit any normal family, and chances are that at a certain point a bag of sunflower seeds will appear for sharing.

Of course, Bulgarians are not alone in this habit, which they share with most of their neighbouring countries.

Being eaten might sound like a sad end for the seeds of such beautiful flowers, but it isn't. Sunflowers manage to be both aesthetically pleasing, and play an important part in the local economy and social life.

High Beam is a series of articles, 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. 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.

Issue 129 America for Bulgaria Foundation Nature

HIGH BEAM

Add new comment

QUOTE-UNQUOTE

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:40:15 +0000

QUOTE-UNQUOTE DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:40

We should be proud with the border fence, the Great Wall of Bulgaria.

Deputy Prime Minister Valery Simeonov, on the fence on the border with Turkey

If you carry a ladder, you can climb over even the Great Wall of China.

Interior Minister Valentin Radev downplays information about migrants surmount the fence on the Turkish border

We have lived to see the day when Tsvetan Tsvetanov accuses Sweden of corruption.

President Rumen Radev on the GERB's top functionary's accusation that Bulgaria buying Gripen fighters is bad

We are on first-name terms since when we both were mayors.

PM Boyko Borisov on his relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Issue 129 Boyko Borisov

QUOTE-UNQUOTE

Add new comment

NICOLE SIMMONS, ON TRAVELLING IN BULGARIA, NOT VISITING THE SAME PLACE TWICE AND COLLECTING ART

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:36:25 +0000

NICOLE SIMMONS, ON TRAVELLING IN BULGARIA, NOT VISITING THE SAME PLACE TWICE AND COLLECTING ART

interview and photography by Anthony Georgieff

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:36

Nicole Simmons is the wife of Eric S. Rubin, who has been the US Ambassador to Bulgaria since February 2016.

Nicole is also an epidemiologist and international health expert with 20 years of experience managing and developing technical assistance, training and research projects. She is currently a part-time faculty member in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a current project evaluating an early childhood development programme in Swaziland.

Nicole was born in New York City, but grew up largely in Minnesota and is now permanently resident in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of Harvard and Johns Hopkins University. In addition to her four resident postings overseas Nicole has extensive experience leading projects in Ethiopia and Bangladesh. She is proficient in Russian and Thai, has a working knowledge of French and hopes soon to attain proficiency in Bulgarian.

As a foreign service spouse Nicole has lived in Kiev, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and in Moscow. In all three previous posts she held full time positions working in US supported programs in international health and development, including health and social sector reform, HIV/AIDS and maternal and child health. Whilst in Chiang Mai and in Moscow she also focused on organising art exhibits and cultural outreach. She is very interested in the potential of art and cultural events to build bridges between the United States and other countries, and to generate debate on many different issues.

Nicole's interest in Bulgaria and things Bulgarian is intense. She has been receiving many guests from the United States and elsewhere, and she has always taken them to different places in Bulgaria because she doesn't want to visit the same place twice. "I love Sofia and Vitosha. I've been to Borovets and to Bansko, I've been to Kazanlak – to both the Rose Festival and the Thracian tombs. We've also been to Sozopol and Sveti Vlas on the Black Sea coast, to name just a few. We are planning to go fishing, then we'll visit Veliko Tarnovo for the Bulgarian Independence Day and we'll stay at Arbanasi. Our schedule is quite full."

Nicole's passion for the arts dates back to some of her earliest foreign postings when she started collecting local art. In this she was assisted by both her husband and her father, whom she describes as a serious collector. One of her main interests in Bulgaria is the Art in Embassy programme run by the US State Department, which aims to showcase the work of both living US and foreign artists and enhance dialogue between them. The programme was started in 1963 and it was President John F. Kennedy who formalised it by appointing its first director. At present, there are 200 exhibition halls and spaces throughout the world where the programme operates – usually in US embassies, residences and other related spaces. "There are curators at the State Department who work closely with the various ambassadors to select artwork to be loaned for a period of three years, "says Nicole. The State Department would then pay for the shipping.

As part of the programme, there is going to be a series of US-Bulgarian exhibitions the first of which already materialised in April-May 2017. On the US side the participants included noted artists H. K. Anne, Bascove, Noël Hudson, Michiko Itanani, Cindy Litchfield and Alex Katz, while on the Bulgarian side there were Hari Atanasov, Krasi Todorov, Selma Todorova, Marin Delimarinov and Petya Deneva. The theme of the exhibition was Expressive Landscapes.

Rhodope Morning, 2009, Hari Atanasov

Cosmic Wanderlust, 2013, Michiko Itatani

Homeland, 2011, Marin Delimarinov

Issue 129

BULGARIA ART

Add new comment

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

DimanaT — Mon, 03 Jul 2017 09:32:55 +0000

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

by Stamen Manolov

DimanaT Mon, 07/03/2017 - 12:32

One thing Bulgaria does not have in great abundance is… islands.

In fact, there are but a handful of isles, sometime just rocks, off the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, and none of them is permanently inhabited except for the usual lighthouse keeper. However, one of them, near Burgas, has recently been refurbished as a growing tourist attraction.

The island, now serviced by regular commercial boats, was used as a monastery, a prison, again a prison and for about a decade after the fall of Communism was all but abandoned. Not any more. Spending a day and a night there may not be a particularly unique experience for someone from Greece, Scotland or Croatia, but it does hold the promise of offering the sort of solitude in such a short supply along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Where in Bulgaria are you?

Issue 129

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?