On my tours around the cities of Bulgaria, I can feel both the Bulgarians' national pride, struggle and the pain throughout the ages. I see it in the artistic works that can be found on the streets and alleys.
Bulgarians are very proud of Vasil Levski (Васил Левски) who was a resistance fighter in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. With the help of the Russians, the Ottomans were defeated in 1878 and after almost 500 years the Bulgarians were free again. Vasil Levski in particular is depicted in many places around the cities.
I also came across this poem on a wall next to a picture of – what I later found out – was Hristo Botev (Христо Ботев). Botev was a Bulgarian poet and revolutionary, but he is not the one who wrote the poem on the wall. The area of Varna is named after him. Hence the confusion.
The poem is called "Какво са..." - "What is..." and was written by Ivan Yonchev (Иван Йончев), also a famous Bulgarian poet.
– What are the stars, oh father, in the sky
that shine so wonderfully in the blue firmament?
– They are, oh son, the eyes of the dead –
of all those who died for their people.
– What are the flowers, oh father, in the field
that sprout so gently under the summer heat?
– Of the dead they are, oh son, the hearts –
of all who die in battle.
- The zephyrs, father, what are the bows
that blow so wonderfully and caress every day?
– Of the dead they are, O son, the souls –
Wandering to find their birth home.
- And the sun, father, what is it then,
that sun that shines over the birthplace?
- Son of an underage, that is the glory
that every immortal leaves behind after death...
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