WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
If you drive out of Burgas and into the Strandzha, you will come across many odd villages but one will stand out as being particularly bizarre. Not only has it been spared the large-scale construction evident all along the southern Black Sea coast, but it is full of wooden sculptures that make it look like a woodcarvers' colony.
The sculptures are vestiges of the International Wood Sculpture Symposium, which used to be held in the village at irregular intervals.
According to the legend, the village was settled by admirers of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, who followed him on what was to be his last attempt to reach Jerusalem. Tolstoy, who had become increasingly mystic toward the end of his life, set off for the Holy Land, but fell sick at a town not very far from Moscow, and later passed away at the station. His followers continued the journey, but did not make it as far as Palestine. They stopped in this village and named it after the resting place of their great mentor. The name – and reputedly some offspring of the Tolstoyists – remains to this day.
Where in Bulgaria are you?
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