A story of childhood memories, apples, river crabs and reality

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Hello, dear travelers,    

In this article I want to introduce you to some of the problems and the expectations of a small part of Bulgaria where I grew up.

The small town of Bratsigovo is located 25 kilometers from Pazardzhik, my hometown. The house of my grandfather is located there. He was a man memorable to me. During the summer I always spent a month or two in his company. Along with the games with friends, education was quite a large part of my activities -- my grandfather had a large atlas of the world with the flags of all countries. He passed on his interests in geography, history and vexillology (the science for the flags) to me. But let's start with a brief history of the city.

The ancient Thracian tribe Bessi settled down in this area couple of thousand years ago. They
left behind evidence of their great civilization, which were found in the Thracians domed tombs - golden treasures, household items and weapons. The richness of the burial ceremony talks a lot about the customs, the way of life and the beliefs of the Thracians, who ruled this part of the world because of its warriors and culture. In 46 BC the Roman Emperor Claudius, conquered all the Balkan Peninsula as well as this area. Its name became Besika – the name of the fallen tribe. Today you can see Roman roads and bridges, as the Romans dominated the Ancient world hundreds of years. During the Middle Ages the Slavs steadily penetrated in Roman territory, enriching the culture and history.  They, in union with the Proto Bulgarians possessed the territory (Thrace was important part in the Firs and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom). In 1395 Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule for nearly 5 centuries. The town of Bratsigovo became an important participant in the struggle for national liberation - one of the main cities involved in the April uprising, crushed by the Ottoman Empire with huge cruelty.
The town has a lot to attract tourists - the tower of the bell tower, built in 1885 is the highest on the Balkan Peninsula. There are a few historical and ethnographic museum, offering insight into the history of the city and region, and traditional crafts – rose distillation, barrel making, weaving, etc.
The climate is great for the treatment of asthma and many lung diseases. At the end of the town there are mineral springs, from which everyone can draw their water for free (something rare nowadays in Bulgaria). The calm pace of life make the place very desirable for holidays and tourism.               A lot of people are engaged in agriculture and livestock breeding, the main livelihood here. On the hills around the village had a lovely apple orchards. Locals claim that the trees were cut from the gypsies living close to the forest, for firewood. I don’t know who to blame, but the fact is that the trees are gone. Even if they have cut down the trees -  they have small children who need warmth and light. Again the Gypsies are accused for the disappear of the coniferous forests around. Well, I ask - why, at the place of each felled tree , there are not two trees planted? Because it’s more easy to cut and destroy than to build and plant. Whether the problem is in education, the poor environment, or more complex, the facts speak – someone is cutting down the forest.
The Gypsies are one of the problems in the town – they have been accused of many counts of theft. Many of them moved from the town because there is no work, because they see no future and for many other reasons.

I have an idea – the apple gardens to be planted again, appointing guards from the municipality (Gypsies) to monitor if someone steals. This I think would be a good step towards their integration and living with the others because we are all still people.
The city hall have developed 7 trails for eco tourism and hiking, to observe the flora and fauna.
On the trails may be seen the following plants: primaeval beech, Common Bearberry, Pulsatilla Montana, Alpine rose (Jovibarba heuffelii) , elderberries and Campanula alpine. As well as animals: a Buzzard, a small hawk, a woodpecker, brown bear, chamois, red back shrike and owl. The map is a result of many people’s work which seek another way  to find sustenance for them and for their family. The map itself, which is actually a picture of a real map painted with dotted lines in different colors, representing the paths. I sent a message a few months ago to the website of the city hall – I asked why the map is not available in Englishn as foreigners do not understand Cyrillic. I offered to translate for free. I have not received a response.
Several kilometers up the mountain is the village of Rozovo which can be reached easily by a walk through the woods. Of course, there is a road, but through the woods is more fun (at least for me).
Just below the village there are remains of a Roman road and a bridge. The legend tells that under a stone of the bridge is buried treasure. Therefore, many of the stones of the bridge are missing. The road around the river is very picturesque - there are fields with crops planted by the local farmers, mixed vegetation and chirping birds. As children we caught  river crabs and got up to 70 per visit. I boiled them in  a pan and ate them with mayonnaise. Some years ago an idea occurred to me - 
To start a business in farming crabs in the EU programs for aquaculture and then sell them to the restaurants. But subsequently I rejected the idea as immoral – It would not be right to make money on account of small vulnerable creatures? Now I have a new idea – to raise crabs and to place them into the river. But nobody could be told of this plan as it will only cause new waves of people looking for easy wealth. As a result of which the ecosystem will be destroyed and the river banks as well. See for yourself how things are complicated ...
16 kilometers far from Bratsigovo is the village of Ravnogor and next to it - Atoluka resort village. Near Ravnogor is the largest Thracian domed tomb of the Balkans. NASA declared that they had located the cleanest air in the Balkans here in 2004. The certificate attesting this is kept in the city hall of Bratsigovo. Basic livelihood for the locals is agriculture and livestock however two hotels were built recently as well as a small lift.
Entrepreneurs hope to promote the village and many tourists to visit, but I hope they will never succeed because it will destroy the fragile equilibrium. The timber industry is already causing damage to the environment and interferes with the local residents. However, it is encouraging that in the area of the village ibex and brown bear can be seen. There are many types of mushrooms and herbs. The future of the region for me is  in sustainable tourism. Housing people directly in the homes of the locals and buying the local goods, rather than staying in hotels and making borders between locals and tourists. Isn’t it better instead of visiting a hotel with standardized rooms to go to in a house with life inside? To be good guests to good people, who, with a cup of wine or brandy, next to the fire will tell you about their life and will dive you into a new world? Is not it better instead of going in  a restaurant just to go visit somebody and stay there for some home-cooked meals? For me it would be better.
Would this inevitably lead to commercialization? I’m afraid that a lot of people can’t resist the temptation to open up new stalls to offer more products which are not typical of the area. I’m afraid that they will begin to build new houses which will lead to concreting nature and the bitter experience that we have seen on the Black Sea coast will become reality. I’m afraid to say that I want to bring tourists to promote the area because it will drive more people to look at the tourists as milking cow. Or maybe the outcome is not to attract attention, although you know how quickly  the news can be spread in a small town ... time will tell.