A Very Bulgarian Weekend

My roommates are two Bulgarian twin sisters, Rositsa and Elitsa (or Rose and Elli, as I call them). They are simply the sweetest and the first moment I met them, I knew I would never be uncomfortable in my home here in Bulgaria. Back on St. Patrick’s Day evening, Elli invited my friends and I to come watch something extremely special she and others had been working on for the past five months; a show called “Bright Little Stars of Blagoevgrad.” It was a bittersweet hour and a half of singing, dancing, and poem recitation by children from the Home for Children Without Parental Care in Blagoevgrad. Another words, these children, aged two to twenty, were orphaned, but that didn’t hold them back. This night was their night, all eyes on them, and they performed their little hearts out. Yes, the little ones were adorable and made your heart sing with joy when they sang their songs and recited their poems, but it also made your heart ache with pain that a child as amazing as these had no one to care for them, no house to go home to. The cherry on top was when a teenage girl, with a voice to become a rock star, sang the song “Pray,” and even if it was by none other than Justin Bieber, the message was sort of heartbreaking and eye-opening at the same time.

Erin and I on St. Patty's Day!

Now that I’ve gotten my share of sentimental, touchy-feely writing in, time to move in. Although St. Patrick’s Day is not really celebrated in Bulgaria, it’s always been a meaningful holiday for me, so my friends and I celebrated with a fun night out. I may have even brought out a little Irish dancing from the good ol’ days.

That weekend, the international services office at my university, with whom my friends and I have had a lot of contact with help for planning trips, organized an overnight trip to the Melnik region of Bulgaria. This region is about an hour and a half south of Blagoevgrad in the southwest corner of Bulgaria, bordering Macedonia to the west and Greece to the South. It was a sort of carefree trip in the way that our schedules were planned out for us and we didn’t have to navigate to all the sights on our own. First stop was in a sleepy little town called Rozhen. They say Melnik is officially the smallest town in Bulgaria, but Rozhen for me seemed to fit that category. Rozhen Monastery is quite a hike up a steep mountain. Surrounding us 360 degrees were beautiful views. Rozhen Monastery is one of the few medieval Bulgarian monasteries preserved until today. In Bulgaria, Martenitsa is a tradition which symbolizes the coming of spring. People wear red and white yarn bracelets beginning March 1 until they see the first bud, then they tie it to the plant or tree or whatever it may be. So atop the mountain outside Rozhen Monastery, my friends and I got rid of our Martenitsa bracelets on the blooming trees.

Martenitsa

Tying my Martenitsa to the branch

Emily and I outside Rozhen Monastery

Melnik from the Kordopulov House

After Rozhen, we moved on to Melnik, a town known for its winemaking. We walked to the Kordopulov House. The Kordopulov family was one of the most famous Melnik wine retailers; the house and wine cellar was turned into a museum. Touring the wine cellar and the caves was very neat. The wine wasn’t exactly like what I’m used to, but it was fun to try, nonetheless. A nice traditional Bulgarian lunch followed the Kordopulov House. Next stop on our journey was an area called Rupite. It is best known as the place where Baba Vanga, the Bulgarian prophet, lived her final years and is buried. Rupite is a large open field surrounded by beautiful mountains. Natural hot springs are scattered throughout the field, which is actually the crater of an extinct volcano. Another interesting fact about Rupite is that excavations have revealed remains of the ancient town of Petra built more than 5,000 years ago.

Girls and I wine tasting

Natural hot springs at Rupite

Statue of Tsar Samuil at Samuil's Fortress

After Rupite we had a quiet night in the city of Petrich, and Sunday morning began with a visit to Baba Vanga’s house in Petrich (google her! Very interesting story). Last stop on our little weekend journey was at a place called Samuil’s Fortress right on the Macedonian and Greek borders. In 1014, the Bulgarian army lost a tragic battle to the Byzantine army. The story goes that 14,000 Bulgarian survivors were blinded and released, leaving one per every 100 with just one eye to lead them home. Tsar Samuil had a heart attack at the horrific sight.

It was nice to have a weekend to explore Bulgaria more and dive even deeper into its fascinating history. It’s difficult to imagine that three months ago, I knew not a clue about the past of a nation as special and important as this. That is proof of one flaw with the Western world: the West is all we learn about unless of course we open our minds up and give ourselves the opportunity to see the rest of the world, because no place or people is more important than the rest.

Some shots that are too good to not remember!