Wednesday 25 June 2008
Our day began early- 6:45 we all wanted to get coffee and something to eat before we were to be at AUGB for a meeting at 8am. We found that the guide books are correct- most Bulgarians don’t eat breakfast, and they don’t even want coffee until much later in the morning. We finally found a bakery that was open and bought some wonderful banistas (a cheese pastry that is very delicious). Then we prevailed upon an accommodating waitress at nearby cafe Baroque to open early to serve us some coffee. Both the coffee and the atmosphere were delightful; as we drank our tall lattes we lounged on pink and brown wicker chairs and loveseats in the cool morning and enjoyed watching the few people who were up and about so early in the morning.
We all gathered in Room 110 at AUGB and met Dr. Evelina Kelbecheva our history professor for the next few weeks. We learned that she was a Fulbright scholar in Irvine California. And the lecture began….
Did you know that the Thracians (the glory of the Bulgarians) really valued and respected the excellent horseman? In fact you can look at the back of a fifty stotinka coin today and find a seated horseman. The Thracians were known for their prowess at fighting, their wonderful horses, excellent metalwork, and well crafted armor. Until historians began to rethink their importance during the 1970’s, they were often marginalized and not respected. In fact, Evelina compared the way historians have reconsidered the importance of the customs, accomplishments and culture of the ancient Thracians with that of the Native Americans in the United States.
The most important element of a culture’s civilization is the written form of their language. Because the Thracians did not have a written language they had to depend upon others to record their actions. The only way we can know about the Thracians is by descriptions written by others. In fact Homer is the first historical source for information about the Thracians. He described in great detail the Thracian King Rezus in the 6th song of the Odyssey.
We saw pictures of the “first gold in the world” the exquisite Thracian gold that was created during the stone/copper age in 4th millennium B.C.E. The civilization that created the Thracian treasures only lasted 60-70 years. Evelina shared several stories about how the gold was found by accident as farmers were plowing their fields. One beautiful vessel made of 15 pounds of pure gold was found in a pig sty used as a feeding bowl. She also reminded us of archeological chronology and the history of the people who inhabited this region.
We all scattered at lunchtime- to change money and eat. Did you know that if an American dollar has a tiny tear along the edge local banks won’t take it? Hint from Le Tran, “Always bring new one hundred dollar bills when you travel.”
In the afternoon we all convened again at the Blagoevgrad Regional Historical Museum for a guided tour. Malgozata Kulova, Phd., the resident archeologist gave us a guided tour of ancient artifacts from Stone Age clay figures to Thracian armor. We were all very impressed by the large collection of Roman gravestones that were found right here in Bulgaria.
After a long and very full day of learning I asked some of our members for their thoughts…
“Our country is so young, today gives me a clear sense of how old this region really is”
“Evelina’s description of a ‘layered cake of culture’ is especially clear when you see these artifacts…”
“The lecture combined with a tour of the museum gives us a clear understanding of how each culture made their mark and contributed to the culture that is Bulgaria today.”
“This visit to the museum helped me to really see and create a picture in my mind to visualize facts from the lecture from this morning.”
Several of us enjoyed a lovely evening at a restaurant named Swing. This quote was on the front of the menu:
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is everything.
Frank Zappa
Our day began early- 6:45 we all wanted to get coffee and something to eat before we were to be at AUGB for a meeting at 8am. We found that the guide books are correct- most Bulgarians don’t eat breakfast, and they don’t even want coffee until much later in the morning. We finally found a bakery that was open and bought some wonderful banistas (a cheese pastry that is very delicious). Then we prevailed upon an accommodating waitress at nearby cafe Baroque to open early to serve us some coffee. Both the coffee and the atmosphere were delightful; as we drank our tall lattes we lounged on pink and brown wicker chairs and loveseats in the cool morning and enjoyed watching the few people who were up and about so early in the morning.
We all gathered in Room 110 at AUGB and met Dr. Evelina Kelbecheva our history professor for the next few weeks. We learned that she was a Fulbright scholar in Irvine California. And the lecture began….
Did you know that the Thracians (the glory of the Bulgarians) really valued and respected the excellent horseman? In fact you can look at the back of a fifty stotinka coin today and find a seated horseman. The Thracians were known for their prowess at fighting, their wonderful horses, excellent metalwork, and well crafted armor. Until historians began to rethink their importance during the 1970’s, they were often marginalized and not respected. In fact, Evelina compared the way historians have reconsidered the importance of the customs, accomplishments and culture of the ancient Thracians with that of the Native Americans in the United States.
The most important element of a culture’s civilization is the written form of their language. Because the Thracians did not have a written language they had to depend upon others to record their actions. The only way we can know about the Thracians is by descriptions written by others. In fact Homer is the first historical source for information about the Thracians. He described in great detail the Thracian King Rezus in the 6th song of the Odyssey.
We saw pictures of the “first gold in the world” the exquisite Thracian gold that was created during the stone/copper age in 4th millennium B.C.E. The civilization that created the Thracian treasures only lasted 60-70 years. Evelina shared several stories about how the gold was found by accident as farmers were plowing their fields. One beautiful vessel made of 15 pounds of pure gold was found in a pig sty used as a feeding bowl. She also reminded us of archeological chronology and the history of the people who inhabited this region.
We all scattered at lunchtime- to change money and eat. Did you know that if an American dollar has a tiny tear along the edge local banks won’t take it? Hint from Le Tran, “Always bring new one hundred dollar bills when you travel.”
In the afternoon we all convened again at the Blagoevgrad Regional Historical Museum for a guided tour. Malgozata Kulova, Phd., the resident archeologist gave us a guided tour of ancient artifacts from Stone Age clay figures to Thracian armor. We were all very impressed by the large collection of Roman gravestones that were found right here in Bulgaria.
After a long and very full day of learning I asked some of our members for their thoughts…
“Our country is so young, today gives me a clear sense of how old this region really is”
“Evelina’s description of a ‘layered cake of culture’ is especially clear when you see these artifacts…”
“The lecture combined with a tour of the museum gives us a clear understanding of how each culture made their mark and contributed to the culture that is Bulgaria today.”
“This visit to the museum helped me to really see and create a picture in my mind to visualize facts from the lecture from this morning.”
Several of us enjoyed a lovely evening at a restaurant named Swing. This quote was on the front of the menu:
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.
Wisdom is not truth.
Truth is not beauty.
Beauty is not love.
Love is not music.
Music is everything.
Frank Zappa
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