Kazanlak is a small town in the province of Stara Zagora, cradled between two mountain ranges: the Stara Planina (also known as Balkan Mountains) to the north and the Sredna Gora range to the south.

It’s located at the eastern end of the Rose Valley, which is one of the world’s largest producers of rose oil, and the city’s annual Rose Festival is a tribute to this legacy.

I was immediately struck by a sense of tranquility that is hard to find in busier urban centers. Actually, this was for me one of the main reasons for having chosen to carry out my ESC in a small town: I am really tired of air and acoustic pollution typical of the big metropolis in which I have always been living.

Contrasting its serene landscapes Kazanlak, the city is home to Arsenal AD established in 1924: Bulgaria’s largest and one of its most historically significant arms manufacturers.

During the Communist era, when Bulgaria was aligned with the Eastern Bloc, Arsenal AD grew significantly in order to meet the needs of the Soviet-aligned Warsaw Pact.

Nowadays, AD’s most well-known products include the AK-47 Kalashnikov rifle, which has been in production since the Cold War.

Initially as a state-owned company, today, Arsenal AD is a privately owned company and one of Bulgaria’s largest employers. Consequently, it has had a profound impact on Kazanlak’s economy: beyond direct employment, Arsenal AD supports a network of suppliers and smaller businesses in the town and the surrounding region.

A significant portion of the weapons and equipment produced in Kazanlak is exported in over 80 countries worldwide, making Bulgaria one of the larger exporters of military equipment in the region.

However, there have been ongoing debates, both domestically and internationally, about the ethics of arms exports, particularly to conflict zones. Some reports have raised concerns about Bulgarian-made weapons being used in Middle Eastern conflicts.

On my first day in Kazanlak, my mentor Nasko brought me around the city for a short tour. It started with a game: I had to drink some water from a fountain but, firstly, I had to choose wisely from which tap to drink from.

It was later explained to me that a local legend says that if you drink from the northern tap you are destined to live in Kazanlak for your entire life! But..guess what? I didn’t pick up this one…

Despite its small size, I discovered that many things can be visited in Kazanlak, I will list you the main three:

1)    The Rose museum

Located in the Rosarium park, it includes utensils for storage and export of rose oil and rose water. A remarkable object in the museum’s exhibition is a rose-oil container that was last used in 1947, but the rose fragrance still comes out of it. Furthermore, we can admire a reproduction of the first rose-oil examination laboratory (”Yaramov”) established in 1907 that issued certificates for the purity of oil that was exported abroad with the aim of contrasting fake rose oil production

2)   Museum of History Iskra

It houses the historical and cultural inheritance of the Kazanlak region: inside, we can find the Thracian treasuries (golden, silver and bronze findings from the Thracian temples in the region) together with coins and other objects from the Thracian Age. But also, jewelry and dresses from the past lifestyles of the citizens of Kazanlak

3)   The Thracian tomb

Kazalakn is located near Seuthopolis: the ancient capital city of the Thracian king Seutes III. Close to the town, we can admire a tomb discovered in 1944 that is part of a larger Thracian necropolis in The Valley of the Thracian Rulers. It dates back from the Hellenistic period, around the end of the 4th century BC and, in 1979, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our activities

Twice per week, our meeting point is at the volunteers wall: a wall which depicts some photos of the international volunteers that took part in previous editions of European projects such as European Solidarity Corps, which was formerly called European Voluntary Service (ESV).

In front of it, our sight is immediately struck by a wide steel red heart used for the collection of plastic caps. Next to it, there’s a giant steel bottle in which the citizens throw clean plastic bottles.

Our task is of course to collect the plastic caps and bottles which are deployed all around the city in some drop-off points.

Approximately once per month, we bring all the plastic that we have collected to a recycling factory that also gives us in return some money to be destined for charity.

Another of my daily activities is to learn how to use ADOBE softwares (Illustrator, InDesign Photoshop and Premiere Pro). I am really into this topic and I wish I would be able to realise my first short movie; I already have an idea in my mind…

Bonus: FOOD

Below, I listed the main delicious vegetarian Bulgarian dishes I tasted in these first weeks.

Shopska salad

Ingredients for this simple yet satiating salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, raw or roasted peppers, and sirene, a white brined cheese similar to feta.

Chushki burek

Roasted sweet red peppers are filled with a mixture of cheese, eggs, and fresh herbs such as parsley or dill, then dredged in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs

Parlenka

Flatbread with cheese

Tarator

Ingredients: cucumber, Bulgarian yogurt and dill

Kiselo Mlyako

Bulgarian yogurt is undoubtedly one of the best types of yogurts available in the world and it is believed to have been known for at least 4000 years.

Bulgarian yogurt has two type of bacteria – lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus – both excellent probiotic bacteria.

The first, lactobacillus bulgaricus, was isolated in Bulgaria (hence its name) many years ago by a well-known Russian scientist called Ilya Metchnikoff – one of the founders of modern immunology.

He was curious to find the reason for the longevity of Bulgarian people living in the mountains ( Bulgaria is one of the countries with the biggest number of people aged 100 years and older.) and he believed that it was linked to their consumption of yogurt.

Magnolia restaurant

Perfect place and atmosphere if you want to dive in the spirit of the old traditional Bulgarian tavern and taste authentic Bulgarian dishes.

In this restaurant, we organised a small goodbye ceremony for one of the volunteers that ended his ESC last week and went back to Georgia.

Bonus II: Monuments and Traditions

During one of our activities (and specifically the distribution of potatoes to marginalised people in the region) we had the chance to visit the small town of Shipka which hosts a stunning church:

Shipka Memorial Church

It’s a Bulgarian Orthodox church built between 1885 and 1902, in the seventeenth-century Russian style.

it is dedicated,, to the Russian and Bulgarian soldiers, whose graves can be visited in the underground crypt, that died for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78.

Special ceremony for the beginning of kindergarten

On Thursday 10th October, we had the occasion to attend a musical and dancing ceremony with children from kindergarten. In Kazanlak, the schools are surrounded by a lot of nature and playground: flowerbeds, grass, trees and many games such as the slide.

The teachers that organised this performance wore traditional typical dresses of the Bulgarian region that you can admire here below:

Until now, my first impressions are very positive: I am looking forward to pushing my proactivity and further discovering this beautiful country!

Ylenia Majo