CULTURE
After five centuries of Turkish rule,
Bulgarian culture reappeared in the 19th century as writers and
artists strove to reawaken national consciousness. Zahari Zograf
(1810-53) painted magnificent frescoes inspired by medieval Bulgarian
art in monasteries. The carvings of highly contemplative monks
appear in monastery museums throughout Bulgaria: saints the size
of grains of rice are a particular highlight. Bulgaria's poets
show a tendency to meet with a violent and early death, lending
a poignancy to the high idealism of writers such as Hristo Botev
(rebel folk poet of the late 19th century), Dimcho Debelyanov
(lyric poet killed in WWI) and Geo Milev (poet of the post-WWI
social upheavals, kidnapped and murdered by police). The grand
old man of Bulgarian literature, Ivan Vazov, is one of the few
who made it over the age of 30. His novel Under the Yoke
describes the 1876 uprising against the Turks.
An ancient Greek myth ascribes a
Thracian origin to Orpheus and the Muses, a heritage which Bulgaria's
singers still take very seriously. Orthodox religious chants convey
the mysticism of regional fables and legends, whereas the spontaneous
folk songs and dances of the villages meld classical origins with
a strong Turkish influence. International interest in Bulgarian
vocal music was ignited by groups such as Le Mystere des Voix
Bulgaires, who have taken Bulgaria's polyphonic female choir singing
to a world audience.
Bulgarians fill up on meals of meat,
potatoes and beans, crisped up with salads, and tossed back with
dangerous liquor: beware of water glasses filled with rakia
(ouch) and mastika (aaah). Breakfast is a bread-based snack
on the run - look out for hole-in-the-wall kiosks selling delicious
banitsi - cheese pastries, often washed down with boza,
a gluggy millet drink which is an acquired taste. Lunch is the
main meal of the day. Dinner appears late at night, mostly to
signal the end of aperitifs and the start of serious slugging.
Bulgarian
is a South Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Saints
Cyril and Methodius, two brothers from Thessaloniki, invented
the Cyrillic script in the 9th century and one of the strong bonds
between Bulgarians and Russians is their shared use of this alphabet.
Russian is the second language of older Bulgarians and is still
taught in schools. Younger people are more likely to be interested
in speaking a version of English peppered with classic rock lyrics
and advertising slogans. Bulgarians waggle their heads Indian-style
to mean yes, and nod to mean no. It's normal to feel like your
head is a pogo-stick; just try to stay upright.
