Crafts Bulgaria

A smiling man offering to sell you a traditional carpet supposedly woven by his old mother herself – everyone who has been to any part of the Middle East has met the omnipresent "genuine" rug dealer.

Shopping in the centre of Tryavna, a traditional town in the central Stara Planina, is a peculiar experience. Here and there, in the narrow shops infused with the aroma of 200-year-old wood, you can find the usual souvenirs and touristy stuff you are familiar with from other traditional places in Bulgaria. However, in Tryavna the ubiquitous carved wood items, icons and old aprons mingle with more ordinary goods, as the old Revival Period shops in the city centre also sell groceries and washing powder, books, shoes and toys, and plenty of the locally manufactured underwear.

The oil-bearing rose is considered one of Bulgaria's symbols, but it already has a strong competitor, lavender. Every summer for the past several years the fields between the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora mountains have been turning purple with rows of lavender plants. Spreading towards the background of the mountain ridges, the plants make you dizzy with their overpowering scent and vivid colour.

If the name Chiprovtsi sounds familiar to you, it is probably owing to the carpets being made there. Handwoven and adorned with intricate geometrical motifs in bright colours, they are one of the most popular remnants of the old handicrafts in Bulgaria, like the coloured ceramics from the region of Troyan. Many Bulgarians consider their design to be unique, although you can easily distinguish patterns already seen on carpets from Asia Minor and the Middle East.

Do you like traditional Bulgarian products? Are you drawn to the vibrant embroidery, intricate woodwork, beautiful ceramics, creative jewellery and skillful artwork? If so, you will agree that these are worth protecting in a world of global pressures, homogenous products and 21st Century cravings.