On reading Kapka Kassabova‘s Border

I held Border in my hands and wondered about its closeness to another travelogue I had read not long ago – Patrick Leigh Fermor’s The Broken Road. Patrick took you … Continue Reading →


Food and Drink of Medieval Bulgarians

Food: The mountain chains that run the length of Bulgaria, the rivers that are fed by the melting snows, the fertile valleys and the plain below the river Danube, the … Continue Reading →


The Day of Bulgarian Culture, writing and education – the British perspective

  It has been a few years since I was in my hometown of Burgas during the 24th of May – the day of the Bulgarian alphabet, culture and education.  … Continue Reading →


Ottoman Institutions and Customs

… and their origins The question of the origins of the Ottoman institutions has been hotly argued for a long time.  Some historians like H.A. Gibbons, claim that there was … Continue Reading →


The Power of Civil Society

  – The Fate of Jews in Bulgaria During the Holocaust  An exhibition and presentation held on the 9 of December 2013,  in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Room,  in the … Continue Reading →


The Catalan Company

The Catalan Company This is the story of how Turkish tribes first entered and then came to control western Anatolia and cross over into European Thrace and Macedonia. Ironically, this … Continue Reading →