Bulgaria Key Page-2

If the bride turns out not to be a virgin, her family must return No matter how you slice its his- Rioja-quaffing
the money to the groom’s parents. Although the wealth of the tory, though, Bulgaria has long American hipsters
suitor’s family trumps virtually every other consideration, says fascinated travelers. First came the would find parts of
Krasimir, a girl’s feelings or attraction to a potential groom are Thracians, about 2,700 years ago, Sofia nothing short
factored into the equation. followed by the Romans, the Byz-
antine Empire, the Ottoman Turks of a dystopian
“She retains the right of refusal,” he says. and then the Communists. These Disneyland.
As night falls many of the families leave without having ne- days — more than two decades
gotiated a marriage for their daughters. A handful of families after the collapse of Communism
traveling in colorful Roma caravans opt to overnight, and be- and five years after joining the
fore long the night air fills with the melancholy sound of vio- European Union — the Bulgarian
lins and accordions riffing through mournful, minor-key melo- capital of Sofia is no more a city of
dies of traditional Roma songs that express the unique suffer- whispers. People laugh, and com-
ing of those born to this austere part of the world. As a gadjo plain, openly. A man with a
(non-Romani), I am forbidden to take photographs. Many of chained, dancing bear performs in
the young girls join their mothers in dancing around the camp- the main square within earshot of
fire under a full moon. sidewalk musicians.

Until recently Bulgaria has been virtually invisible Today Sofians are free to enjoy
to most Americans and barely a blip on the radar life to the fullest and do so in part
of most U.S. travelers, save for the New Capital- by drinking at the drop of a shap-
ism business consultants and investment specula- ka.. Food is significantly cheaper
tors — the same breed that rolled into the Czech Republic and here even when compared to other
Hungary with suitcases stuffed with cash in the early 1990s Eastern European capitals like Bra-
after the fall of Communism in those former Iron Curtain cous- tislava and Prague. Years ago Bul-
ins. In fact, in 2016 more Americans visited England in a sin- garians creamated the corpse of
gle day than visited Bulgaria the entire year. It doesn’t help Stalinist tyrant Georgi Dimitrov. In
that this country, even by Eastern European standards, is still place of the old Lenin monument is
shrouded by Soviet-era cloak-and-dagger exploits that includes a statue of Sofia’s patron saint.
the alleged connection of the Bulgarian secret service to the
attempted murder of the pope in 1981. A short walk from the market-
place is the 4th-century Byzantine
A far more positive footnote of this country’s storied 20th- Church of St. George. Nearby is
century history is typically overlooked: Bulgaria’s refusal dur- the Banya Bashi Mosque, built by
ing World War II to turn Jews over to the Nazis. the Ottomans in the 16th century.
Around the corner is the Sofia Syn-
agogue, Europe's largest Sephardic Above, a Communist-era apartment block in downtown Sofia. Opposite page: One of the city’s modern penthouses.
synagogue. Once again the city’s Byzantine monuments
have become living churches, sometimes crowded with up Here families live in makeshift huts amid a grinding poverty are nothing short of a dystopian Disneyland.
to 20,000 worshipers at a time. Sofia’s faithful say this capi- that is wholly shocking for an EU nation. Other parts of So- For the culturally curious the best time to prowl this ancient
tal’s once outlawed religious traditions have once again fia offer a bleak wasteland framed by Cold War-era blocks
become organic elements of the present and are helping to of dreary and crumbling, graffiti-covered totalitarian flats and haggard looking capital is arguably after dark when So-
heal Bulgaria’s dark political past. lifelessly rooted in the past and accented by overgrown fields fia’s nearly three dozen strobe-lighted bars and nightclubs,
with rusted fences. Decrepit Soviet-made cars decay like many hidden behind aging Soviet-era apartment flats and
And not a moment too soon. During a trek through the steel skeletons on empty cracked sidewalks. Rioja-quaffing known only by word of mouth, come to life thanks to the
city’s Roma quarter of Fakulteta we are eyewitnesses to a American hipsters would rejoice to find that parts of Sofia city’s estimated 20,000 university students.
slum that rivals the worst seen in Africa and South America.
Adopted for the evening by college kids half our age and