Guardian of the past

The Flooded Church, Zhrebchevo dam, Bulgaria

The Crossroads point: 

This haunting place is much more than a beautiful place and a favourite photo spot. It is a sign of a whole era. During the totalitarian regime in Bulgaria, the government was determined to turn an agrarian society into an industrial one. Hence, factories of all kinds were built across the land (without a thought whether Bulgaria actually has the resources to operate those or if they need to be imported). Infrastructure was improved, cities were built and re-built and last but not least - dozens of dams appeared. 

Before the dams could appear, though, some space needed to be cleared, as the cosy lowlands in-between riverbeds were occupied already - with villages, most of the settlements being hundreds of years old. The most notorious case is of the only known Thracian town, Sevtopolis, being swallowed by another dam and irreparably lost to history. Forever. Many villages were destroyed in the 1950s and 60s with the 'noble' idea to bring water to those who needed it. Sacrifices needed to be made for the common good, right? Inhabitants were given some 'monetary compensation' and or apartments in nearby towns. The end. 

Here is the catch though - there were some things that could have been spared the destruction - churches - for example. The Flooded Church, or the St. Ivan Rilski church, as it was its name, was once a place of worship for three villages - Zapalnya, Zrebchevo (which gave the dam its name) and Dolno Panicharevo. The chucrh itself was erected at the end of the 19th century and in 1962 when the dam was constructed, was already a monument of cultural significance for the locals. It could have been rescued during the construction of the dam. The precious frescoes were lost - the only thing the priest was allowed to take away were the holy books and relics that were kept in the altar (or so the tale goes). In 1962 the water flooded the three villages, and the church remained at the end of the dam, half-flooded in winter by water, and on land during the summer. It is on the edge of the dam, and it was once on a hill above the villages. The old village graveyard, was also flooded and some tombstones can occasionally be seen around. Even the bases of houses could be seen in dry times, further into the dam. 

Today, thankfully, probably due to the great media interest in the place, restoration (or conservation, I'm not quite sure) of the temple is under way. This place, along with a few other flooded churches on the territory of Bulgaria, has become a symbol of the mindless destruction of that time. 

How to get there:

This is not a tourist site per-se and is mostly visited by photographers. There are no signs for it and you can easily miss the right turn. If you are interested to see it and you are travelling in Bulgaria, drop me a line and I'll give you some more information :) 

11 years in the domain

It's been exactly 11 years since I took this picture. When I had no idea what to do with my first camera but had amazing luv with weather. It was how the Culture Crossroads project

started - with this image :) 

Greetings from Eos.

A beautiful sunrise (I rarely take pictures of sunrises, because I really hate getting up early) lights Aegean Sea.

The story behind the shot is available on my blog.

http://bistrastoimenovaphotography.blogspot.bg/2016/09/crete-chasing-minoans-part-two-iraklio.html

Part one here:

http://bistrastoimenovaphotography.blogspot.bg/2016/09/chasing-minoans-part-one-pireaus.html

Sunset in Ouranupoli

A lazy Saturday and a throwback to same time 2 years ago when I had the chance to capture this amazing sunset in Ouranupoli.

This image has been living in the archive for way too long, so high time to bring it out :)

#bistrastoimenova #photography #greeklandscape #greecephotography #greece🇬🇷 #greecetravelgr1_ #greece_is_awesome #travelgreece #travelphotography #harbor #boats #visitgreece #sunset #sea🌊 #sea #seascape #seaside #Mediterranean #summermemories #summer #europe #culturecrossroads #ouranupoli 

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 international women's day!

 Happy international women's day! 

#womenempowerment #womensday #womensday2020 #womensday2020❤️ #women #flowers #bistrastoimenova #photography #8ofmarch #осмимарт #деннажената2020 #деннажената 

Color palette

Color Palette

Sighisoara old town, Romania

A walk through the alleys of Sighisoara in a gloomy and rainy afternoon. You must have seen this shot here and there, if not - now's the perfect time to stop and read.

The Crossroads point: 

Sighisoara is a really strange place. Mainly because the tourist industry advertises it as the birthplace of Vlad Tepes (or Vlad Dracula, as popular culture knows him). The town has nothing to do with vampires, though. It is a bit creepy and has an unique Medieval look but apart from that, nothing else. 

What makes it so unique is that Sighisoara is located in Transylvania - which means it is in Romania BUT the town and its population are actually NOT Romanian at all. In fact, you could hear German speech in the streets (but not the German you study at school, I can assure you). People there speak a Saxon dialect which remained intact for several hundred years. Even though the German-speaking population is a minority, it is proud of its roots and isolates itself against the Romanian 'intruders'. 

The reason behind that lies in the history of the place - in the 12th century the Hungarian king invited Saxon craftsmen to settle in the area in order to defend it against invasion (I suspect that the 'threat' was the Bulgarian kingdom across the Danube, but that is a topic of another post). The craftsmen did settle and became so prosperous, they managed to get autonomy from the king in the 14th century. To defend themselves, the guilds joined forces and each of them built one of the towers of the imposing citadel (all towers are 7 but now only 5 or 6 can be seen). 

Throughout the centuries, Sighisoara was regarded, along with the neighbouring Sibiu, as 'the gate to Transylvania' and it's strategic position dictated the change of rulers. The place was exporting goods to half of Europe and crafting other goods for the other half. 

The houses, though picturesque, are not a dream to live in - small, crowded, as within any citadel where space is the most valuable commodity, lacking sewers etc. They were restored (to the state you see on the pic) due to sponsorship (I think it was the Romanian government BUT I am not quite sure). 

The town has 3 names - Segesvar (Hungarian), Sighisoara (Romanian) and Schäßburg (German) - and now the predominant population is Romanian (around 70+%). Each of the minorities calls the town by the name in their own tongue :) 

The place is part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1999 :) It's deemed one of the most beautiful medieval towns (still inhabited, that is) in Europe and the moment you set foot there, you inevitably look for a knight in shining armour. 

More information on what to do in Sighisoara, on these websites: 

https://sighisoaraonline.com

http://romaniatourism.com/sighisoara.html

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/

Happy Spring!

Happy 1 of March everyone! 

Or as Bulgarians say Chestita Baba Marta! Wishing you to be red and white like a Martenitsa! 

The Crossroads point:

Today Bulgarians celebrate the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Unlike Western cultures where Spring is a young and beautiful woman, our Spring is the so called Baba Marta - an old and fiery-tempered granny. She is best-known for her ill temper. When March starts, all want to keep to Baba Marta's good side :) 

The legends:

According to folklore, Baba Marta is the only sister of the 11 month gods and is particularly angry with her two brothers - January and February - because during the winter they drank all her wine  :-D 

So, even though March is technically a spring month, the weather is heavily dependent on Baba Marta's mood swings. One day she's happy and the sun shines, the next day she's furious and blizzard comes around.

On this day, Bulgarians greet each other with the wish: Happy Baba Marta! Let you be red and white like a Martenitsa!.

Another legend ties Martenitsa to the dawn of Bulgarian history. Back in 680 AD, when Khan Asparuh (the first Bulgarian ruler and founder of the Bulgarian state in traditional historiography) was fighting Byzantium, his sister was taken captive by the Byzantine emperor. She sent a pigeon with a message to her brother about the Byzantine army coming to the Bulgarian stronghold on the bank of the Danube river and tied the slip of paper to the animal's leg with a white thread. The pigeon flew but was shot crossing the Byzantine lines. Still, it made it to Asparuh's camp. He read the message and saw that the thread had turned half white and half red. He took that as a good omen, tied the thread around his wrist and rode into battle... To win and to establish the Bulgarian state - 1300 years later, the country has not yet changed name (not even once) and still stands in its original place on the map.

What is a Martenitsa?

The symbol of the holiday is called a Martenitsa (from the name for the month March in Bulgarian). It is either a bracelet made of white and red thread or two anthropomorphic figurines - called Pizho (the male one) and Penda (the female one) . You can see them below. Usually Pizho is a red figurine and Penda - a white one. The Martenitsa is worn as an amulet  all March and is taken off only after one sees a stork (the messenger of spring in Bulgarian folklore) or till the month is over. Usually, the martenitsa is then tied to a fruit-bearing tree, so that it would bear more fruit the upcoming year. 

Fun fact is that Martenitsa is worn all over the Balkan peninusula - in Romania, Greece, Macedonia, parts of Serbia. Bulgarian nationalists explain that with the territory occupied by the First Bulgarian kingdom (which covered the territories of the present-day countries above). Truth is that it's a wonderful tradition to keep. 

Fun fact 2 - a joint application of Bulgaria and Romania put Martenitsa on the UNESCO World Heritage list (of intangible heritage) in 2017 :) 

So, happy spring and be healthy!

New Year, New Plans

Hey everyone! 

I know the blog has been dormant for quite some time BUT I promise to change things in 2020. 

This post should have appeared a month ago, but for objective reasons, the new year for me starts a month later. For starters, I would like to thank everyone for taking your time to be by my side throughout this difficult period. Thank you and for continuing to follow me on my journey in the world of photography!

Last year I started with some pretty serious plans and I have to admit that 2019 was packed with a lot of events (most of them were quite interesting, with one or two horrid exceptions). A lot of things happened (such as becoming a Master of Arts in the field of Photography and getting my degree in Cultural Studies), I visited many places (for some I have shared some info, for others - not yet). However, there were plans that could not move out of the drawing board (I am only one person, after all, and the day is only 24 hours).

So now is the time to share what I intend to do this year.

In 2019 Culture Crossroads was left in the background (not because I don't have something to share, but because I was pretty busy creating the images on location) so in 2020 I'll try to have more things to appear like on the page, and also on the blog and website of the project. About that, a little later.

The first and largest of the new things is my modification to the 365 day photo challenge. Since I doubt being able to take pictures absolutely every day in the new year, I invented something different.

There is another option of the photo challenge where one shot should be done every week, a total of 52 images. However, this was seemed too restricting to me, so I created the 52 week triple challenge.

The idea is that every week there will be three alternative topics and depending on my opportunity to shoot, there will be between one and three photos, depending on my mood and inspiration that week.

The list of topics can be downloaded from my website in case anyone wants to join :) I will announce the topics each Monday and whoever wishes can share their images in a comment under the post. Photos will also be posted on my blog as well as on Instagram.

Ironically, last year the challenge ended exactly in week 5 (because my busy schedule became even busier). Therefore, this year, we will start straight from week 5 :)

Another change is that more photos and videos will appear on the Culture Crossroads project page - both videos from the places and behind-the-scenes footage. However, to be able to see those in due time, you will have to follow the project page and my YouTube channel.

I have planned a series of videos for this page, this time for the fieldwork in travel photography, as this genre takes out a huge part of my time. As usual, there will be options in Bulgarian and English :) I hope you'll like it :) Generally, this was the plan last year, but obviously I will do this one so now's the time.

The second project is linked to Dmitry Glukhovsky's Subway Series (Metro 2033, Metro 2034 and Metro 2035, in case anyone is interested). More about that when the project starts. There will be lots of pictures again and a lot of work to be done.

The Title? Metro 2020 :)

Finally, I am currently developing a mini photo project that is directly linked to shooting places from old photos. The Target? Old Sofia. Whoever managed to visit my exhibition in may 2019 has already seen some of the images, but I plan to keep going. For the fans and followers of the page, I will start sharing the images I already have :) The project video presentation can be found here.

I wish all of you a 2020 filled with much success health and smiles!

Sea views - Happy Saint Nicolas day!

Today is Saint Nicholas' day :)
Wishing lots of health to all those who bear the name of Saint Nikolas the Miracle-maker and everyone who id associated with the sea in any way :)

The background information about the day and the saint:
Since it is too long a story for one post, go check the detailed information on my blog. If you don't know who that saint is, check out here:
http://bistrastoimenovaphotography.blogspot.bg/…/happy-sain…

More about the celebrations (old post but the info is still current) - see here:
http://bistrastoimenovaphotography.blogspot.bg/…/happy-sain…

The Crossroads point:
Chora Sfakion is the biggest town in the remote region of Sfakia, Crete. It is so isolated, that very few roads lead to and from it and it is the closest big settlement to the famous Samaria Gorge. This region borders the south coast of Crete and the landscape resembles a semi-desert land. No trees outside the town, just barren hills and high mountains and ravines, as far as the eye can see. And the ink-coloured sea. Sorry, got poetic here.

Point is that the sea is indeed with the colour of ink as the shores are quite steep there - given the fact that Sfakia region (the former Sfakia prefecture) covers the area where the highest mountain on Crete is located (the Lefka Ori range, which translated from Greek means 'White mountain'). Summer is quite dry but in winter snow and rain and sea rage.

The people of Sfakia are known to be the most rebellious of all on Crete. Throughout the Ottoman domination, legend has it that this area was never even conquered. The deep gorges that end somewhere deep into the mountain offered the perfect shelter for the locals. This is also the only place in Crete (not sure if not the whole of Greece) where the Venetians built a fort not to protect themselves from invaders from the sea but to fend off the attacks of locals.

More about that - in subsequent posts as this story is too fascinating to tell in just a few sentences.

Tourist information:
Chora Sfakion is a popular tourist destination and easy to find due to the influx of tourists that comes here each year to hike the Samaria gorge. Most people pass it by on their way to and from the ferry. It it totally worth at least half a day as the place is incredibly beautiful :)

There are signs from the main roads BUT the nearest airport is at Chania so you'll need a car (or to take the bus, if available at all) to get here. The trip is totally worth it, trust me :)

The story behind the shot - on Bistra Stoimenova Photography page 

Djavola varos

Silent witnesses

The Devil's city (Djavola varos), Serbia

The Crossroads Point:

The Devil's city is one of the popular places for a trip in the country of our western neighbors. The place is about 300 kilometers from Sofia and looks quite like Melnik or the Stob pyramids phenomenons. The nearest town is Kurshumlija and this is the most famous sight to see. 

The Serbians have taken care of the visitors and you can find almost anything in place - from a toilet (don't laugh, this is something you cannot find at each and every rock formation you visit) to cafes and small chapel. The walk to the place is also quite pleasant. The entrance fee is quite small and you can stay for as long as you like there.

The place itself is known for its poisonous water. I'm not kidding, the concentration of heavy metals in it is so big, that it is not potable, nor fit for washing and kills everything in its path. Water is even acidic and if you get closer, it lets out a strange smell and makes you dizzy (take my word for this, no need to try it yourself as well). Even the trees around her are very strange, like enchanted monsters. The place looks like an haunted forest, indeed. 

The legend:

The Legend of the place invented by the locals is also not to be missed. Followers from Bulgaria can see it in the video on Bistra Stoimenova Photography page (I decided to play the tour guide, so it's better to hear it from me). For anyone who doesn't speak Bulgarian, here we are:

Once, there was such a prosperous village in the land. So rich and full of happy people, that even the Devil himself was envious. And he decided to put an end to the wonderful time the villagers were having. So he poisoned the water in all wells of the village as well as the river that ran near it (some variants of the legend claim it was a witch that acted on the Devil's orders). And the villagers did go mad. So mad, in fact, that they decided to wed a brother to his sister. It was pure madness and incest but no one seemed to notice it. As the wedding preparations went on, a fairy wanted to save them. So she prayed to God to stop this madness. But God didn't say a thing. The wedding started and the procession with the brother and sister at the front started making its way towards the church at the other end. Then God saw what was happening and turned the people into stone figures. They still stand there, frozen in time. The water is also there.  Poisonous as ever. 

Tourist information:

The place is one of the most people-friendly ones I have seen. The ticket costs only 350 dinara (the local currency) which is not much and there is plenty of space to relax. The road to Kurshumlija may be a bit of a problem as it is a bit tricky once you get off the highway. Otherwise, the place is totally worth the visit. You'll need to allow a full day for it as the place is a bit remote. 

More information, on the Djavola varos website :) 

https://www.djavoljavaros.com

The story behind the shot on Bistra Stoimenova Photography page :)