Varosha, the historic section of Blagoevgrad.

These are memorials to the dead, photocopies of pictures and other vital information, posted throughout the town. This wall was near the old church in an historic area, but you would also see them posted at intersections, at bus stops, and in parks.At first I thought they were election posters! I couldn’t read the posters because they were in Bulgarian, but it was clear that they included at least name, birth date and death date. Some featured young children. I saw several copies of the same poster for a little boy in several locations, so I assume that the family posts throughout the city. Also see the page with cemetery phots.

This tree in a park sports some (slightly ragged) string. The photo was taken in June, but the string is left over from the March 1 holiday when Bulgarians give each other martenitsa, red and white tasseled threads worn for health and happiness at the coming of spring. When wearers see their first stork of the season, they tie their martenitsa to the nearest tree. The storks must have been easy to see flying over from downtown, because a number of the trees had red and white string. I was told that large fish hatcheries several miles south of the city attract a large number of storks in the spring.

This photo is of the "mall" in the center of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria during the May 24th holiday, Cyrill & Methodius. You can see that the rock band is set up in front of the American University in Bulgaria, which is festooned with large portraits of Bulgarian historical figures. The banner behind the band proclaims the "24th May" holiday, and is flanked by two other banners. On the left is a banner with an icon of the two saints, and on the right is the city of Blagoevgrad’s logo.

Banner on the main square of Blagoevgrad. You can see the city logo on the left -- it is blue with a horse in the middle (the horse is the symbol of Blagoevgrad.)