Meatpie

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Bulgaria
Photos from where I live, all taken last couple of months with info.

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A worshipper lights a candle as she attends Sunday Mass led by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill and Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim in Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia on April 29, 2012.
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A man walks inside of the crumbling oval skeleton of the House of the Bulgarian Communist Party on mount Buzludzha in Bulgaria on March 14, 2012. Over two decades after the toppling of the regime they glorified, the megalomaniac monuments of the communist era are still standing, a quandary for Bulgarian authorities, who can neither maintain nor dismantle them.

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Bulgarian "Kukeri" dancers carry torches during a carnival in the village of Gabrovdol on January 13, 2012. The Kukeri Carnival marks the beginning of spring. Masks are intended to drive away sickness and evil spirits.

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A Bulgarian Roma rides his horse during feasts marking the traditional holiday Todorov den, also known as the Horse Easter, near Sofia on March 3, 2012. Horse races, cart competitions and horse exhibitions testing the animals' strength are part of the festival.

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A girl practices in front of a picture of Bulgaria's gymnastic federation president Jordan Jovtchev in a gymnasium on February 22, 2012 in Sofia. At 39, Bulgaria's Jordan Jovtchev is close to becoming the first male gymnast to compete in six Olympics.

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A man stands on the banks of the Danube river on October 30, 2011 near Vidin. Severe drought hit Europe's second largest river, turning it into a navigation nightmare for shipping companies from Germany to Bulgaria.

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A goat wanders a deserted classroom in the village of Voynitsa, at the heart of Bulgaria's northwestern region on December 6, 2011. Bulgaria's rural northwest is officially the poorest region in the European Union

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A woman looks through the gate of her house in the village of Chichil, in Bulgaria's northwestern region.

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Members of the White Brotherhood perform a ritual dance near Babreka Lake on August 19, 2011, as part of a celebration of their New Year. The movement, whose founder is Bulgarian Peter Danov, is a synthesis of Christianity and Hinduism.

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Fatme Kichukova has her make-up applied during her wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo, in the Rhodope Mountains on December 11, 2011. The remote mountain village of Ribnovo in southwest Bulgaria has kept its traditional winter marriage ceremony alive despite decades of Communist persecution, followed by poverty that forced many men to seek work abroad. The wedding ritual was resurrected with vigor among the Pomaks -- Slavs who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule. The highlight of the ceremony is the painting of the bride's face, where in a private rite open only to female in-laws, her face is covered in thick, chalky white paint and decorated with colorful sequins. Muslims currently make up 10 percent of Bulgaria's 7.4 million population.

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Mehmed Aiumankov (center) dances during a wedding procession heading for the house of his bride Fatme Kichukova in the village of Ribnovo on December 11, 2011

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An elderly man smokes in a cafe in Sofia on December 14, 2011. Bulgaria's government proposed a total ban on smoking in closed public places starting June 1, 2012. The small Balkan country -- home to some of Europe's heaviest smokers, already banned smoking in all government buildings, public transport, trains, cinemas, schools and kindergartens in 2005.

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A squirrel sits on a snow-covered branch in a park during a heavy snowfall in Sofia on December 22, 2011.

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Men dressed as soldiers parade in front of the Alexander Nevski Cathedral during celebrations marking the 134th anniversary of Sofia's liberation from Ottoman rule in Sofia on January 4, 2012.

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Men perform the traditional Bulgarian "Horo" dance in the icy waters of the Tundzha River in Kalofer as part of the Epiphany Day celebrations on January 6, 2012.

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Bulgarians dive into icy water as they compete to catch a cross in the middle of a lake in Sofia as part of Epiphany Day celebrations on January 6, 2012. It is believed that the man who is the first to grab the cross, thrown into the water by an Eastern Orthodox priest, will be healthy throughout the year.

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Bulgarian Orthodox bishops attend a service in St. Nedelia cathedral in Sofia on January 22, 2012. The ghost of communism resurfaced in Bulgaria, with 11 of the country's 15 top bishops exposed as former secret police agents.

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Bulgarians ride a horse-drawn cart near Sofia on January 27, 2012 after a heavy snow fall.

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An ice fisherman waits for a catch on a frozen lake near Sofia on January 30, 2011

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A woman lights a candle on the monument listing the names of the victims of the Communist regime during an open air mass in Sofia on February 1, 2012. Bulgaria observed for the first time a day of remembrance for the victims of the country's 45-year communist regime at the anniversary of the first killings on February 1, 1945. Between December 1944 and April 1945, the self-proclaimed People's Court set up by the newly established communist regime ordered the killing of a total of 2,730 Bulgarians

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People cry as they return to their homes in the flooded village of Bisser on February 7, 2012. A dam in southern Bulgaria collapsed after heavy rain, flooding Bisser and killing at least eight people.

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Members of nationalist organizations march in Sofia on February 18, 2012 to commemorate General Hristo Lukov, a Bulgarian army commander who was killed on February 13, 1943.

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Employees work on the assembly line of the new Great Wall Motor's factory in the village of Bahovitsa on February 21, 2012 . China's Great Wall Motor eyes to enter the European market with cars assembled in Bulgaria

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Staff members care for a baby at the Saint Ivan Rilski home for medical and social care for children during a visit of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) representatives in Sofia on February 15, 2012. A practice inherited from communist times, the abandonment of healthy and disabled children by their families is most widespread in the 22 countries of central and eastern Europe.

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Two environmental activists wearing protective masks attend a protest in Sofia on March 9, 2012 to mark the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

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Acrobats perform with fire in front of Ivan Vazov national theatre during Earth Hour in Sofia on March 31, 2012

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Catholic women attend an Easter vigil mass in the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel in the town of Rakovski on April 7, 2012.

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Bulgarians walk with candles near the Alexander Nevski cathedral after an Easter service in Sofia on April 15, 2012.

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A fan gestures during an event supporting Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov at the Bulgarian National stadium in Sofia on April 19, 2012. Thousands gathered to show their support for Petrov, who was recently diagnosed with acute leukemia. The number 19 is a tribute to Petrov's shirt number.

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An elderly man enjoys a sunny day in a park in downtown Sofia on May 2, 2012.

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Some 333 Bulgarian bagpipers play their instruments in an attempt to set a world record for the largest-scale performance of bagpipers at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia on May 16, 2012.

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People sit outside apartment buildings in Sofia after an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the open-ended Richter scale on May 22, 2012. The quake rocked Bulgaria shortly after 3:00 in the morning and jolted the town of Pernik, causing tall buildings to sway, and was followed by about 15 lighter aftershocks.

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PFC Ludogorets players celebrate with a trophy at end of their Bulgarian Championship final soccer match against CSKA Sofia at Ludogorets Arena stadium in Razgrad on May 23, 2012

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Zookeeper Behcet Ali, 82, hand-feeds eight-month-old lion cubs in a tiny zoo in the town of Razgrad on May 12,2012. Behcet is Bulgaria's oldest zookeeper, famous for raising over 15 lion cubs during his 33-year service and the only one to be in full contact with his predators.

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An archeologist cleans a skeleton during excavations in the Black Sea town of Sozopol, Bulgaria on June 1, 2012. Archaeologists have unearthed two skeletons from the Middle Ages pierced through the chest with iron rods to keep them from turning into vampires, the head of the history museum said. According to pagan beliefs, people who were considered bad during their lifetimes might turn into vampires after death unless stabbed in the chest with an iron or wooden rod before being buried.

Source: boston.com


 
333 bagpipes playing is equivalent to the noise of 1200 wildcats being swung about by their tails. I wonder how many participants died when their heads exploded?
 
I like bagpipe music, I think it sounds beautiful. I like the pictures too, thanks for the scenes from Bulgaria.
 
Great set of pics MP. Especially like the squirrel and the car workers ;)
 
Great set of pics MP. Especially like the squirrel and the car workers ;)

Oh yes, car workers pic is also my favourite. Thanks for the comments guys.
 
Very nice set of pictures, Meatpie, thanks for a peek into your country.

I especially like the last two pics:
How Bulgarian necros dispose of the bodies after they've gone stale (feed it to the lions)
and the chest piercing practices appeal to me as well.
 
Nice insight to your country meatpie. Thanks for sharing
 
Thank you for the pictures - interesting one of skeleton.
 
Very nice collection , thanks!
 
an excellent collection of your homeland. I can feel the tragedy while simultaneously feeling the beauty within your culture. Would like to visit someday.
 
And where is that tragedy you see? Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic that's more than 50,000 years ago.
 
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