Photo reporter Evgeni Dimitrov is Chairman of the Cultural Projects Society that organizes the expedition Rediscover Bulgaria. Its team of photographers and journalists makes trips to little known places across the country with the purpose of collecting data and taking pictures. A few days ago the team went on a trip to the valley of the river Russenski Lom, Northern Bulgaria.
“We reached very close to the Cherven castle which was inhabited from the Halcolith to the time of Ottoman rule in Bulgaria”, Evgeni Dimitrov explains. “Very little is known about it. Archeologists from the museum in Rousse started exploring the site in 2005. The castle lies in a very picturesque locality and represents a large, 90-m cave niche. Inside there is a spring with excellent drinking water, as well as messages in Greek and Latin. Funerals have been found there, as well as Thracian sacrificial altars. And reaching the place is in fact a great spiritual adventure.”
The materials prepared should stir interest in readers by combining facts with photographs. “Now for example with the opening of the border with Greece quite a few sites of interest have emerged in the border zone,” Evgeni Dimitrov explains. Luckily, they have been protected from treasure-hunters for decades. So now researchers are given a rare chance to explore them. One example is the castle in the locality of Balak, very close to the border. Archeologists have established that the site was inhabited at the end of 9 and the early 10 c. The Rediscover Bulgaria team visited a lovely village in that same region – Dolno Loukovo.
“It is known with a tree unique for Bulgaria – a wax tree”, Evgeni Dimitrov says. “It is a Mediterranean shrub, but in Dolno Loukovo it has grown into a tree. Its wax-like crust changes its color several times a year – from white to lilac, and then from purple to brown. It is a protected species. The village church is two centuries old and is dug into the ground. Its interior is covered with woodcarvings. For now the place looks a bit sad with many deserted houses, but if there are more visitors wishing to come by, it can be revived.”
“The Wax Tree" is very rare in Bulgaria
The expedition will make trips to forty little known, however worthy historical sites across the country. Its consultants are two leading Bulgarian scholars – Prof. Valeria Fol and Prof. Hristo Matanov. The best photographs and texts will be published in Bulgarian and foreign media. After one year completes from the start of the project, a large photo exhibition will be mounted on the Bridge of Lovers near the National Palace of Culture with cooperation from the Sofia City Hall.
English version Daniela Konstantinova
