And it fades

  Morning above Arbanassi, Bulgaria

There's still laundry out from the trip, vestiges of the Black Sea tan. In R's fridge, one final bottle of Bulgarian champagne and probably still some leva (or stutinki) in a pocket, somewhere.

With the final threads of a perfect trip, and imagination, will hold onto Bulgaria a little longer but I can feel New York taking hold. It's turning to fall here and that seasonal switch is a rigorous one.

Labor Day watershed.

C - nostalgic 

What arrowheads are to us

"All archaeologists working in the area have already joined their colleagues at the site, and are working without rest, adrenaline rushing through their veins."
- From Sofia News Agency, "Bulgarians Unearth Unique Thracian Gold Treasure"

Bulgaria's ancient culture made front pages elsewhere (though not registering on our own domestic screens).

Thracian priestess burial mound found on Black Sea Coast, just south of Sinemorets, not far from Veleka River head. Thracian = 3rd cen. BC., found intact - an univestigated mound left alone for over 2000 years.

R and I were there two weeks ago. Just a little early and without our Thracian tomb radar on, we drove right by the mount.

What they found, and this is even more stunning if you're getting the frequency that these tombs are being turned up, is an intact burial chamber full of lovely things to accompany a priestess on her journey into the underworld.



(What we don't know about Bulgaria could fill more than one Thracian tomb.)

C - hoping priestess reached and reigns

Not yet celebrated

 
Nessebar (Black Sea Coast), interior The Church of St Stephen

I've spent too many bulgaria posts dwelling on the ideosynchrosies of an ancient country poised to join the EU in 2007, and maybe not enough on its very rich, too little known, and everywhere evident history.

Which is plain lazy of me I suppose - like the guide book writer pointing out the horse cart beside the SUV, juxtapositions aren't exactly journalism.

So, we're celebrating from here on in.

And starting with this gem of a church in Nessebar. Painting to the rafters and I had it to myself to wander.

Love, and much respect, C