Некролози

New to the Cyrillic alphabet and with a very limited vocabulary, one of the first questions I had upon arriving in Bulgaria pertained to the notices I was seeing everywhere with peoples photos and a short write-up. To my eye, they looked like wanted posters or missing people posters. In a way, that’s what they are. It is an old Bulgarian tradition to post obituaries (некролози) in public. An obituary typically includes the name of the deceased, his or her date of birth and death, a photograph, and the date and place of the funeral. It varies from region to region, but an obituary generally remains posted on gates outside homes, or on doors outside apartment blocks, at least a year. Obituaries posted at bus stations, train stations, and in other more public spots remain up until covered by someone else’s obituary or taken down by cleaners. Again, it varies from region to region, but obituaries are then reposted on certain anniversaries of one’s death. It’s an interesting tradition which may not be unique to Bulgaria but which I don’t recall observing in any of the more than sixty other countries I’ve visited around the world.

Swearing In

On July 24, 2009, the 25th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Bulgaria was sworn in. It’s a talented group of sixty-two volunteers. Roughly half the group is here to teach English, while the others will be working either in community development or youth development. We all bring different skills and levels of experience, but we all hope to build on the legacy of those who served before us, beginning with the first group in 1991.

A group photo just before we were sworn in as volunteers.

Враца (Vratsa)

As previously mentioned, my host brother and his wife live in Враца (Vratsa) and I stayed with them on more than one occasion. Nestled in the foothills of "Vrachanski Balkan," Vratsa is a quite picturesque city - at least from a distance. Unfortunately, I had little time to properly explore it and took only a few photos.

Vratsa.


Monument to Hristo Botev in Vratsa.


Vratsata Gorge.

Божи Мост

In my very first post I mentioned that the photo on the title page was taken at a place called Божи Мост (God’s Bridge). Located between the villages of Devene and Lilyache, this is a popular place among locals for camping, hiking, and picnics. My host brother and his wife took me there one weekend afternoon for a Bulgarian-style barbeque, and we were joined by my language trainer extraordinaire, Dessi, and her husband and daughter. Here are some photos from that afternoon.

God's Bridge.


A view of the natural bridge from the other side.

A different view looking out from a cave within the natural bridge.

Some shots of the area landscape.



Preparing our barbeque lunch.

A couple interesting critters.


Obligatory wildflower shots.

Белоградчик (Belogradchik)

Topping the trip to Klisurski Monastery was the one we took to Белоградчик (Belogradchik). The Belogradchik Rocks were Bulgaria’s submission in an ongoing contest to name the New Seven Wonders of the World. Belogradchik didn’t generate enough love from online voters to advance to the finals, but that doesn’t mean the area isn’t worth visiting. Again, I’ll spare you most of the details, all of which can be found other places online, but tourists are drawn to Belogradchik by two things: the rocks and an ancient fortress built amongst them. The day we were there the rocks, fortress, and surrounding hills were shrouded in fog, adding a medieval ambiance to the entire scene. Here are some photos of the area, including a few shots of some of the more interesting wildflowers which were in abundance.

Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress.



Belogradchik Rocks.


Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress.




Wildflowers.








The town of Belogradchik as seen from the Fortress.

Клисурски манастир (Klisurski Monastery)

We were lucky in Boychinovtsi. The principal at the school where we taught was beyond decent. One of the unexpected and most appreciated perks of training at the school was being able to go on excursions (i.e. field trips) with some of the students and full-time teachers. One such excursion took us to Клисурски манастир (Klisurski Monastery). Located between Varshets and Berkovitsa, Klisurski is one of more than one-hundred monasteries shown on the Bulgaria tourist map. You can find plenty of information about Klisurski and the other monasteries online, and I won’t regurgitate that information here. Suffice it to say, the monasteries played a vital role in preserving Bulgarian culture during the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria. Due to their secluded and difficult to reach locations, many of the monasteries were spared from destruction. Klisurski wasn’t among these, however, and, after being destroyed repeatedly by the Ottomans, it was reconstructed in 1869 and officially consecrated in 1891. Here are some photos of how it looks today.