19/10 - празникът на Свети Иван Рилски

Днес почитаме Свети Иван Рилски - единственият светец, за когото всички са единодушни, че е българин. 

На снимката - вторият етаж на Рилския манастир.

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Историята зад кадър:

Била съм на това място страшно много пъти (вече доста отдавна не ги броя). В повечето случаи на тази дата грее ясно слънце и е пълно с народ. Не и този път :) Валеше дъжд (и беше около 8 градуса по Целзий) и затова почти нямаше хора, иначе на този ден манастирът е претъпкан с хора от къде ли не - включително гърци, руснаци и какви ли не други (при това поклонници, не просто туристи на екскурзия). Като бонус, на този ден беше пълно с монаси и монахини от различни държави, дошли при своите колеги специално за празника.

За мястото:

Рилският манастир е най-големият на Балканския полуостров. Основан е от Св. Иван Рилски някъде в края на 10ти век (поне така се твърди) и днес в него се съхраняват мощите на светеца. Това е много, ама МНОГО популярен туристически обект, част от списъка със световното културно наследство на ЮНЕСКО. В самия манастир може да се преспи, но нямам представа нито какви са условията, нито какви са цените. 

Ако ходите, непременно посетете църквата, разбира се в подходящо облекло (без къси гащи или потници). Вътре в самата църква снимането е АБСОЛЮТНО забранено. 

Фотосъвет:

Най-хубавите снимки стават от втория или третия етаж на манастира (ако успеете да се промъкнете). Възможно е да ви трябва широкоъгълен обектив, защото мястото трудно се обхваща с един кадър. 

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Rila Monastery, at the day of st. Ivan Rila

Or what happens if you get on the third floor of the monastery (because someone forgot to put the restraining rope).

The story behind the shot:

I've visited this place many times. In most cases, on this day there is a lot of sunshine and crowds. Not this time, though :) it was raining (and it was about 8 degrees Celsius) and that's why there were almost no people, otherwise on this day the monastery is crowded with people from everywhere - including Greeks, Russians and many others (pilgrims, mind you, not just tourists on a vacation). As a bonus, this day was full of monks and nuns from different countries who came to visit their colleagues for the holiday.

About the place:

Rila Monastery is the largest monastery on the Balkan Peninsula. It was founded by Sveti Ivan Rilski (Saint John of Rila) somewhere at the end of the 10th century ( or so the legend goes) and today the relics of the saint are kept inside. This is a very, very popular tourist site, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. You can sleep in the monastery, but I have no idea what the conditions are or what prices are.

If you go, do visit the church, of course in proper attire (no shorts or tops). Inside the church itself, photography or filming is absolutely FORBIDDEN.

Photoadvice:

The best photos can be taken from the second or third floor of the monastery (if you can sneak in since access is denied to visitors, actually). You may need a wide-angle lens because the place is hard to cover with one shot.

19 мои кадъра в изложбата СТАРИ БЪЛГАРСКИ СТОЛИЦИ И СРЕДНОВЕКОВНИ КРЕПОСТИ

 

Още една изложба с мои кадри в нея ще може да бъде видяна тези дни. При това напълно безплатно, защото е онлайн. Поне за нас, българите :)

Този път фокусът е нещо, което ми е слабост - културните обекти. Който ме познава в реалния живот, е наясно, че дрънкам като латерна за исторически факти и събития. В тази изложба, заедно с колегите Йордан Йорданов, Иван Василев, Лилия Йотова и Димитър Калиновски от Асоциацията на професионалните фотографи, сме събрали красиви кадри на известни и красиви български крепости, както и снимки на всички стари български столици или онова, което е останало от тях. Кадрите бяха събрани в клипче, заедно с малко текст към всяко едно място.

Това клипче ще бъде част от електронната изложба, създадена с партньорството на Българския културен институт – Москва, със заглавие СТАРИ БЪЛГАРСКИ СТОЛИЦИ И СРЕДНОВЕКОВНИ КРЕПОСТИ, която е посветена на годишнината от създаването на българската държава. Годишнината е свързана с датата 09 август 681 г., когато по време на VI Вселенски събор в Константинопол, за първи път е споменато името на държавата България. Ако сте гледали филма "Хан Аспарух", мисля че една от първите сцени в първата част показва точно това. Дори са цитирали дословно историческите извори (о, чудо!) :)

В тази изложба успях да се проявя, защото имам включени не един и два кадъра, а цели 19. С кадъра от статията долу, стават 20. Текстът във видеото, както и в статията долу също е мой, така че и като културолог-писател ме има :) Клипчето ще бъде публикувано в YouTube в понеделник, 09 август и тогава ще споделя както руската, така и българската версия. Руският превод е направен с помощта на хората от БКИ. Същото клипче ще бъде прожектирано в културния ни институт в Москва като част съвместната програма на БКИ и Националното туристическо представителство "Научете повече за България". Не знам за вас, обаче аз съм горда, че мои кадри (някои заснети като част от Culture Crossroads, а други доста по-стари посещения на въпросните исторически места), ще представят българската история :)

А докато излезе клипчето, прочетете увода към изложбата ни в статията по-долу :)

https://bci-russia.ru/news/908/?lang=BG&fbclid=IwAR3cDnqLjRBI0o8Rl1UMxsYRvo3_R8g6PCnDzsms084Uy5CgfKB81CAxvF8

Весел петък!

Today is a huge religious holiday in Bulgaria

Today is the day of Dormition of the Mother of God

In honor of the holiday, I'm posting a picture of the highest statue of the Holy Mother of God in the world. It's 14 feet tall and the chapel below it-17. It's located in Haskovo, Bulgaria.

Truth be told, this is an old photo but I still love it :) 

About the place:

Getting there is easy. There are signs all over the town because it's one of the main landmarks. If you climb up the bell tower you can enjoy a panoramic view of the town. The chapel is open every day, but in order to enter, you have to be properly dressed.

The story behind the shot:

This shot is an accident. I had some bad luck that day, I ended up on location right at noon when the sun shines directly from above. With that sun, the statue remained in shadow, so I didn't expect miracles. Before I left, I decided to take a shot of the sun and the statue to make a silhouette. 

However, this was far beyond my expectations...

Photoadvice:

To create an image like this, you'll need a closed aperture (the biffer f/ number, the better) and bright sun. The rest is a matter of luck. 

Happy Liberation Day!

Happy Third of March to all Bulgarians and people who feel for Bulgaria in some way :)

Today, we celebrate 'Liberation day'

Here is some info about the history of the place.

The Crossroads point:

The monument on Shipka peak as seen from Orlovo Gnezdo (the literal translation for that in English would be Eagle Nest)

The place is a very dramatic an symbolic for all Bulgarians because 141 years ago it was the place where the fate of the whole nation was decided. It is a place where we honour the heroism of those who fought there to make us safe.

In 1877, during the Russian-Turkish Liberation war, that place was attacked by the Ottoman army.

The idea was that one Turkish pasha (Siuleyman) had to go to Northern Bulgaria to help another pasha (Osman) with the Russian siege of Pleven (which is in Northern Bulgaria). Had he done that, the Liberation War would have ended with defeat for the Russians and devastation for the Bulgarians.

This is where Shipka comes to the fore – to go to Northern Bulgaria, Suileyman had to cross Stara Planina (which stretches across the middle of Bulgaria) but driven by anger he foolishly chose the highest mountain pass in the area – Shipka pass.

The defenders on the homonymous peak above the pass were around 7 500 Bulgarian volunteers and Russian soldiers against more than 27 000 Turkish soldiers and bashibozuk (the Turkish version of volunteer army, known for their cruelty). In a dramatic 3-day fight when even the ammo ran out, the defenders fought till the last one standing and even threw the dead bodies of their comrades against the enemy. They managed to stand their ground until some reinforcements were sent and that slowed down the Turkish army and basically tilted the scales in favour of Russia. Today, it is said that that fight won the whole war and won freedom for Bulgaria

The monument has long and tangled history (which deserves a post of its own) so for the time being I'll only mention that it was built on donations and opened to visitors in 1934. It is open all year round, the exact working hours vary according to season.

More info on how to get there, tickets etc. can be found on their website:

http://www.shipkamuseum.org/en/

When colouring matters

I am primarily a colour-shooting photographer. In plain language, this means that 90% of the images I take are in colour. Even if in the end they appear in sepia or black and white, this is an exception, rather than the rule. I love colours. Really - to me very few pictures look good in Black and white. Even street photography - when I do street - is mostly in colour.

So, naturally, when I went off to the other end of Bulgaria (a total of 8 hours jolting on bumpy roads in buses) to shoot a traditional Bulgarian wedding reenactment - I was dead-set on delivering all images in colour.

The backstory:

Bulgarian photographers don't exactly have a sense of 'togetherness' so as a result we don't exactly have a guild. The Association of Professional Photographers is a new NGO, established only last year. When we gather somewhere, it is because something (or someone) united us. In this case it is the annual gathering of the photographers in Bulgaria, organized by the site www.photo-forum.net (the biggest and most prestigious photo site in Bulgaria - if you have a high rating there, you are deemed good). The event is important since most camera gear manufacturers come with equipment for testing, there is a whole photo studio at our disposal (which is a lot for someone like me, who currently cannot afford setting up a studio) and models to try things out with. The location changes each year so that people can visit more interesting places.

This year it was Zlatograd - a small town near the border with Turkey. The place was chosen for its ethnographic complex (the organizers even arranged us to sleep in the complex which was wonderful for night images). There is always some kind of a programme - with lectures and workshops by other professionals and it is usually very enriching in terms of information.

This year, one of the workshops I really looked forward to was the 'traditional Bulgarian wedding' one organized by an agency that is specialized in this kind of weddings (now gaining popularity in Bulgaria). Since such customs are very rarely seen (most traditions are centuries-old but almost forgotten now) and usually weddings are a private affair - I thought the whole thing will look really good on my project, Culture Crossroads.

My initial idea was to document the wonderful colours of the Bulgarian national costumes (which are unique in terms of styling and even differ tremendously according to region).

When reality strikes again:

All great I ideas I may have BUT things didn't go according to plan. Turned out that I am not the only one planning to do a photo shoot at the event and then use it for portfolio. Besides, how can you create something unique when at least 15 more colleagues are trying to do the same?

Still, I think I did well - experience trying to capture the 'wow' shot in crowded tourist destinations helped a lot - and came back with a few hundred images documenting every possible aspect of the ritual from every angle imaginable.

I will not go into details about the ritual here since it would take a long time and I plan to create a whole detailed post for it on the Culture Crossroads blog.

So I proudly presented a portfolio of around 20 images of the event - all in colour. Imagine my disappointment when everyone (both tutors and peers) said that it looked set-up. Well, it WAS a set up because no one gets married this way nowadays and no one got married that day. Even if a couple decides to follow the traditions, a wedding is usually a private affair so no one outside the immediate family and guests will have access to the pictures.

The veiling of the bride - crucial moment in any wedding. Still - I was told that there is no emotion and looks static. Otherwise I love the bright colours because most things in a wedding are colour coded. Like the red veil that is supposed to protect the bride from evil eyes and bad luck.

The bride says goodbye to her parents. During the wedding she is not allowed to talk and is basically led around as a puppet (that veil is not transparent so unless led, she may fall somewhere). This one the only image that 'worked' for my peers and tutors. To me - this image really has something and is one of my favourites from the whole trip.

During the workshop we made all participants pose for a picture, resembling the old-style images of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. This image looks quite set-up in colour, I admit.

Needless to say, I was disappointed with that result. Honestly, I had hoped to use these images as a coherent portfolio - counting on the fact that they do tell a story and at least to me, they looked OK.

Still, I didn't discard the idea of using the images for my project (after all, I cannot say when I'll have the opportunity to photograph something like this again). So I decided to edit the images right and then see if they are as hopeless as everyone said they are.

When colouring matters:

Editing in black and white is usually the last resort for me in post-processing. The image has to be either hopeless - blown out exposure, messy colours, dull sky - or to somehow scream that it would look good in this. I am saying 'scream' because unlike some colleagues, I am not really good with seeing in black and white.

So, when I started editing the images - all 20 of the selection plus a few more I thought inportant for the narrative on my blog - I did the colour edits first. After all, better to show the colour in things - guess that few people outside the Balkans have an idea how a national costume would look like.

Then, I got to this image and thought that it is worth a try for something different. This, ironically, was the only image deemed worth for something by virtually everyone I showed it to. So I decided that I should try black and white for it.

I was dead-set on using this image for my project because it seemed like the most powerful of all in the series. But to do the blog post I planned, I needed all other images to give context. Traditional Bulgarian wedding customs are not so famous so even native Bulgarians need a little backstory. Problem was that if I chose black and white, all the colour codes and their meaning will be lost and I will have a hard time explaining which is what - as you can see from the image above. On the other hand, that type of editing - antique plate - made the images look like they've been taken a century ago and I loved that air of 'autenticity'. So I went on to see if this kind of edit will work with the rest of the crop.

Then I reconsidered - I actually hate the plain black and white and prefer toned in sepia instead. I even have a favourite preset that makes people look like antique Daguerreotype plates. Converted the image, tweaked a bit with colour channels (to emphasize that at least some colour existed in the original) and gasped.

The magic had worked! Now the image, even though it was not taken 100 years ago, looked ancient and much more authentic. I immediately tried the trick with all other images and was delighted to see that it worked!

Turning it to black and white deprived the images of that air of 'set-up photoshoot' and covered up for some problems - like the modern shoes of some of the participants, for example. Moreover, the whole look reminded me of this website: www.lostbulgaria.com - which catalogizes old images taken in Bulgaria during the past two centuries. They are all take out of someone's archives, scanned and then uploaded to the website.

This one looks a bit less posed in this edit but still reminds me how old-time photographers used to line people up and make them pose as if it is a natural action caught by accident. Love the air of the image but still have problems with the lack of colours somehow, even though the toned images look much more 'photographic' (personal opinion which I will be testing out these days).

This image though, looks much better this way than in colour - the air of 'set-up photoshoot' is still there since it's not 1893, for example BUT somehow it's not that explicit here.

These images look totally different in colour, at least to me. They cease to be snapshots and start 'talking'. Even though this type of post-processing may look fake to some, to me it adds meaning to the images.

This whole image editing journey left me in two minds. I love my coloured versions (as I mentioned above, I always keep the coloured version) and I will have to use them for Culture Crossroads because without the rich colours of the national costumes I wouldn't be able to make my point with what colours matter and how things work. For example, I have to point out that the national costumes come out of different regions - for example - the dress of the mother of the bride is from one end of Bulgaria and the one of the mother of the groom is from the other end. These ethnographic differences are hard to spot in a B&W shot, even if you know what to look for. So, for the sake of my blog post, explaining the symbolism of the Bulgarian wedding and going step by step through the ritual - I will be using the coloured versions.

For posting in photo sites though I will use the toned versions - because they look more 'artsy' and somehow get the render of the scene better without the clutter of colours.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Today is the Orthodox Easter so - happy holidays and I wish you lots of joy, health and good luck!

Take a red egg and check which one is the 'strongest' or eat some 'kozunak' (or whatever the name of the Easter bun is in your country) and then get some lamb and enjoy the day! 

Expect some festive posts in the following days :) 
Hint: they would be mostly about food :)

Featured in an application!!!

За вас притежатели на iPhone - вече можете да видите част от снимките ми в приложението Traveluv.
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/traveluv/id1074602452?l=en&mt=8

For you iPhone holders - now you can find some of my images on the Traveluv application.
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/traveluv/id1074602452?l=en&mt=8

Belogradchik rocks - chasing the light - sneak peek

This is just a sneak peek of what I've been up to lately - hunting the perfect landscape shot. Belogradchik rock formations are one of the most spectacular places in Bulgaria - really, the view is amazing! Problem is that the light can be quite a false friend there. So in the following excerpt you'll read about my ordeals with the lighting there.

I promise to write a full-length travelogue and tell you all about it some time soon.

About the place:

Belogradchik rocks in the late afternoon.
It is a sandstone rock formation in the Northwest of Bulgaria. In Roman times, the rocks housed a garrison that used to guard the border and it had been so up till 19th century. Now the main part of the formation (from which I took the picture - I promise to post a shot of that soon) is still called Kaleto (the word for 'fortress in Turkish').
The rocks are to be included in UNESCO world heritage sites - there is a procedure under way.

Entrance:

You cannot stay inside after 6 pm - the fortress gets locked so there is no way to capture a sunset inside without getting a permit first. Same goes for sunrise. It's full of people - it's a very popular tourist destination, after all - so you don't have the time for a tripod or some tweaky long exposure tricks. Besides, the top of the formation is not that big so you don't have much space to move around either.

This is my second visit to the place. You have no idea how difficult it is to get the right light there - even if you go at noon, the rocks would be black against the sky. So I went in the late afternoon and made sure it's a cloudy day. Still the result is not ideal so I guess I'll have to go a third time :) This time I'll make sure that the weather forecast says it's going to rain.
Entrance fee is 6 leva, last group goes in at 7pm (you can even listen to a tour guide but you have to pay some extra money - if you don't - as I did - been there too many times to listen to one and the same story all over again, besides - it was the pictures I was concentrated on - you can roam around freely and enjoy the view.). Outside the fortress you can buy some amazing local wine - totally recommend it!

Technicalities:

I used a wide angle lens (10 -18mm) and still had problems with filling the scenery into the frame. Besides, I could only see the images through the viefinder - the sun was shining in the LCD so I shot on autopilot - taking as many pictures as I could. Of course - since I knew that I'll need post processing - I used RAW format.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Now you can find my portfolio on www.coroflot.com

Don't worry, it would get bigger! 

Here is the link to it - http://www.coroflot.com/BistraStoimenovaPhotography/portfolio

Now there is a whole new user-friendly place to see some of my best work! Hope you like it!

Write to me if you like it, write to me if you have ideas to shareq write to me if you dislike something...

Happy Saint Nicolas day! The food. Part 2

Hello, everybody! 

In the previous post I talked about the tradition behind the celebrations on 6th of December. In this post, which is going to be way shorter, I'll show you the recipe for this year. As you remember the fish is always a carp so only the other ingredients vary. In case you don't remember or you haven't read the previous post - here is some info:

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

Ok, you saw the idea from the previous year - radioactive St. Nicolas' day carp with rice and turmeric sauce - that recipe I'll give you another time. 

The recipe this year is a bit different - we again have rice and walnuts and a carp but it looks different:

It is a common carp stuffed with rice, walnuts, raisins and leek and puree of creme cheese, spinach and leek.

Here it is the recipe!

You'll need:

1 carp - around 2 kg.

3 pieces of leek

250 g. rice - white normal rice

100 g. raisins

100 g. walnuts

1 jar/packet/ whatever they sell them in your country/ of creme cheese or cheese and a lot of butter - around 250 g.

coriander - fresh - put as much as you like

black pepper

cinnamon

salt

water

cherry tomatoes - if you want to copy the flowers from the picture

How to do it?

1. OK, you'll need to cut the leek into rings and then fry it in some oil (choose the type - olive oil will be perfect but all other types will do). Then you add the raisins and the walnuts to the leek.

Somewhere around that point you add a bit of water.

You add the coriander and let the whole thing stew for a little - you'll need a deep pan or a casserole to get all ingredients in. 

2.Then you add the rice and the spices - the black pepper and the cinnamon - again - put as much as you like in there. 

By the time you've added all things to the mixture it should look like this:

3. So, now you have to leave it to get the rice boiled a little - not over boil it because when you stuff the carp with it and bake it it will look like a very unpleasant lump with no particular ingredients. So you boil it for, say, half an hour and you proceed to the stuffing procedure.

Stuffing of the carp

Here you'll probably need an assistant - to hold the fish steady while you stuff it with the mixture created during the previous steps. Let's however, go over some things you do BEFORE that:

1. Clean the carp - that means all scales and intestines (to do that cut the carp open and cut out the intestines you find in its belly). DO NOT throw away the scales - they have to be buried in the yard with the bones to bring good luck :)

2. Rinse the carp with cold water to get rid of the blood and clean the belly.  

3. Stuff the carp - have someone hold it open for you and you put the stuffing in. Don't worry if the stuffing is much more than the carp's belly can hold - you just put it around it in the pan/pot you'll be using to bake it in. So, after you stuff it you have to sew up the opening so that the stuffing doesn't get out during the baking process. You'll need a big needle and a strong thread to do that. 

I don't have pictures of that because I was the assistant - you see, you can't hold a camera if both your hands are around the belly of a fish.

Baking

1. After you stuff and sew up the carp you place it in whatever you'll use to bake it it - it should be big enough for the carp to lie on one side. 

2. You put all the remaining stuffing around the carp and add a bit of water - 1/2 liter or more - depends on how much stuffing you have left.

3. Put it in the oven for around 40 minutes - when it's ready it should look like this:

The spinach/leek/cheese puree

This one is the tricky part. 

So for that you'll need

1 piece of leek

500 g. of spinach

250 g. of creme cheese (in case this doesn't exist in your country - get the softest white cheese - Feta will do - and a lot of butter and put the two into a blender)

1. Clean the spinach and cut it as if for salad. Cut the leek into rings and fry them until they show some sign of getting cooked. 

2. Put the cheese and get the blender ready - it would take a lot of time to get the creamy texture you are looking for.

3. If you are fan of fancy-looking food in you dish try this;

Get some shapes you use for cutting cookies and fill them with the puree - don't forget to put some foil underneath so that nothing leaks out.

Put the forms into the freezer for half an hour - AT MOST - I left them there for a day and they froze. 

Use them as decoration.

Since I had mine frozen I used flowers made from cherry tomatoes to make up for that. They are easy to make - you just start cutting the petals from the top without cutting them out fully. When you're done with the whole tomato and spread the petals - you have a wonderful flower.

Enjoy! If you do the recipe, I'll be glad to see a picture and to read your comments on it :)

Happy Saint Nicolas day! About the day and the saint. Part 1

Hi everyone, I haven't written in while but it had been a busy time for me. 

Anyway, the topic of the following post will have to do with religion, customs and above all - FOOD!

So let's get to religion first. Who is St. Nicolas and why do we celebrate the 6th of December each year? To tell you that I'll have to tell you a kindergarten story:

St. Nicolas was born in a wealthy family. His parents loved him very much and took good care of him but they died when he was a young man. St. Nicolas had no idea what to do with all the wealth left by his parents so he left it aside for a while. He didn't spend it, but he didn't give it all away either. One day, he heard a poor man complain to a friend - he had three daughters but could not afford to pay the dowry of even the eldest so that she could marry the man she loved. The poor man was worried of what would happen to his children if they don't get married - they will be avoided by the other members of the small society, insulted as burden to them, even deemed prostitutes - for why else would three beautiful young girls stay unmarried? St. Nicolas said nothing to the man - decided that first should check the story and learn more about him. So he followed him to see where he lived. It was a poor cottage and the man indeed had three beautiful daughters. While the girls were working, they were talking about the same things - how they won't be able to marry because on no dowry. St. Nicolas decided that if he gave the money in public the man would not accept them because of pride. So he devised another plan. The following night he slipped into the poor man's house and left three purses filled with gold coins by the side of each daughter's bed. The three girls rejoiced when they found the money the next morning. They got married soon after and lived in peace and joy with their husbands. Saint Nicolas found a good way to use the fortune left by his parents - whenever he saw someone in need, he just gave the money the person needed and left it by the side of the bed of that person at night. 

So, to cut the long story short - Saint Nicolas was the prototype of Santa Claus - the two names even sound familiar. he had been a real historical figure: here is how the wikipedia article puts it: 

Saint Nicholas (Greek: Ἅγιος Νικόλαος, Hagios Nikólaos, Latin: Sanctus Nicolaus); (15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century Christian saint and Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey). Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker (Νικόλαος ὁ Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos ho Thaumaturgos). He had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, a practice celebrated on his feast day―St Nicholas Day (6 December, Gregorian calendar, in Western Christianity and 19 December, Julian calendar, in Eastern Christianity);and thus became the model for Santa Claus, whose modern name comes from the Dutch Sinterklaas, itself from a series of elisions and corruptions of the transliteration of "Saint Nikolaos". His reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints. In 1087, part of the relics (about half of the bones) were furtively translated to Bari, in Apulia, Italy; for this reason, he is also known as Nikolaos of Bari. The remaining bones were taken to Venice in AD 1100.

The historical Saint Nicholas is commemorated and revered among Anglican,Catholic, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. In addition, some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Reformed churches have been named in honor of Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers and students in various cities and countries around Europe.

Here is how St. Nicolas looked like - an icon - image taken from wikipedia.org

So, on the 6th of December we celebrate the day of St. Nicolas. Originally, it was the day on which children receive gifts. St. Nicolas was the original Father Christmas - before the 1920s and Coca Cola's marketing idea. 

In many countries children do receive gifts on that day, in Bulgaria there is a different tradition. Since he is the patron saint of sailors, on that day no one goes out at sea - it is said that from this day onwards - for a few weeks up to New Year's Eve - the sea is too dangerous to go into. The traditional dish is fish - nowadays of any kind but the traditional type is common carp - guess because the fish is very common in our region. Here is a picture of how it looks like - in case you don't know:

Image taken from: http://www.outdooralabama.com/common-carp 

So, the fish should be a whole one - not cut in pieces and when you buy it it should be with it's scales and all the organs inside it. The idea is that the scales bring in money and the whole fish symbolizes prosperity. Then, when you clean the scales, you bury them together with all the bones of the fish somewhere in the garden. Tradition says that you should fill the fish with rice - again the money connotation - and walnuts. Since you are supposed to be fasting before Christmas, St. Nicolas' day is one of the few occasions when you can eat fish - i.e. meat. Nowadays it is a wonderful time to get together with the family. 

I will post a picture of the carp we ate last year to get an impression of  what the whole thing looks like: 

As for this year's carp - I'll write again with the recipe and some pictures when it's ready. Wait for part two of the post :) 

Rila Monastery - the biggest monastery on the Balkan peninsula part 1 Or - general rules for visiting Eastern Orthodox churches and monasteries

Hello everybody,

Today I'm gonna take you to Rila Monastery - the biggest monastery on the Balkan peninsula. It is situated in the Rila mountains next to the Rila town. If you are traveling from Sofia - you'll have to drive for about two hours - there is a new motorway. In case you don't know where to turn - at the point together with the brown road signs (which indicate a place of cultural significance and hence - a tourist attraction) there is a big stone statue of St. Ivan Rilski - the patron saint of the monastery, a miracle worker and patron saint of Bulgaria as well. I can't show you a picture because it never crossed my mind that I should. Next time, maybe. Since it is a favourite place of mine, you will see several posts about it - I will try to tell you different things about it each time. 

How the monastery looks from the outside

The first thing you need to know is that is an ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN (EASTERN ORTHODOX I mean - think of Greece and Russia and you'll get the point) monastery so there are a few things you should know BEFORE you go there.

What to wear?

When you are traveling, you want to be comfortable, right? Well, when you go to a monastery or church in Bulgaria there are a few restrictions:

- Shorts, strapless tops or dresses (or such with straps altogether), short dresses are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. It is considered an offense to God and the church to go in like that so they will either give you a scarf to tie around yourself or tell you that you cannot enter. You need to be wearing a top with sleeves (short at least but sleeves). Low cut clothes are also forbidden for the same reason. THE WHOLE THING ABOVE GOES FOR BOTH SEXES AND ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS!!! It doesn't matter if it is 40 degrees Celsius outside - you should show respect no matter what.

- Unlike Greece, where they will make you wear a skirt, even if you are in long jeans, or Russia - where they make you cover your hair - here no such things are needed. You just need a skirt at knee length at least or long pantaloons and a top with at least the hint of sleeves and no low cut neck line. 

Pictures:

Snapping is a disease sometimes so you should be careful where do you take your camera out!

- Taking pictures INSIDE MOST CHURCHES AND MONASTERIES IS FORBIDDEN UNLESS YOU ASK FIRST. Sometimes they will say it's OK as long as you do not disturb the other people (which means - NO FLASH) but in most times it is strictly forbidden unless it is a very big holiday (when everyone has a camera) or a wedding/ christening etc.  In Rila Monastery you cannot take pictures inside. 

In Church:

Orthodox Christian churches have very little to do with Catholic ar Protestant ones. 

- You will see chairs in the church along the walls but they are NOT for sitting. They are intended for those who cannot stand on their own or are too sick to do so. Unlike Catholic churches - here you pray on your feet, not on your knees. So, don't sit unless you feel faint.

The chairs I told you about - only these are OUTSIDE the church - just below a window

- BEWARE OF CANDLES - everyone who goes inside the church to pray lights a candle or many. The custom is that uneven numbers (1, 3, 5 etc) are for the LIVING and even ones (2, 4, 6, etc.) are for the DEAD. Keep that in mind if you want to do what everyone else is doing. For the living you place you candles on your eye level - there are many candelabras, don't worry - and for the dead - above ground in SAND (In Greece it's all in sand - guess it's because it's easy to clean and they have a lot of it).

What I was trying to say is that candles are most often made of wax which is very hot as it melts and can ruin your clothes and gear if you are not careful. Also - if it is a big holiday - there are a lot of people with candles around you so BEWARE OF CATCHING FIRE - hair and clothes from artificial materials are prone to that. 

- Be respectful - don't get in the way of monks/ preachers etc. They have their won work to do and tourists are none of their concern - there are tour guides for that. DON'T LAUGH AND TALK IN A LOUD VOICE INSIDE! You interrupt others and make noise and it is generally bad behavior. 

- Icons and frescoes CANNOT (in most cases) be touched! You can ruin them by accident. 

Some of the frescoes with a fountain.

- Be careful with oxygen - when candles burn, they use up the oxygen in the room so if you feel dizzy - go outside IMMEDIATELY. carbon mono-oxide is not to be trifled with.

Here you can get water - it's not only potable but one of the best tasting in the country.

So, after we got trough the preliminary - what about the monastery itself? Or the saint? 

You'll learn about that in my next post :)