Very interesting finding from the island of Kos

Today, while reading the latest edition of FEPTO NEWS (The Federation of European Psychodrama Training Organizations' newsletter), on page 28 I found that the forthcoming 5th International Sociodrama conference 2015 will be held on the Greek island of Kos, in the eastern Aegean sea. 

But what really stroke me was two pictures of traditional folk dances from the island of Kos. 

Two notes on these photos: 

1. The women's dressing is very similar to the Bulgarian women's garb. Especially the aprons are very similar to the aprons in some Bulgarian regions. The female jewelries are typical for the Balkans region too, as well the male's clothes which probably were influenced from the Ottomans. 

2. The way dancers hold their hands over one another is similar to the way some Bulgarians hold their hands. 

Lets compare:

14th century: medieval Bulgarian horo dancers - a fresco from the Tower of Hrelyo in Rila monastery, 1334-35.

21st century: Bulgarian amateur horo dancers from the town of Harmanli during their repetition, 2013. 

I decided to check out if really the local people of Kos dance in this way. In here is what I found:

Χοροί από Δωδεκάνησα

That's right! The people in the southeastern Aegean island of Kos, which stays just 2 miles from Bodrum and the Turkish coast, and about 350 miles from the Bulgarian lands, hold their hands one over another just like the people in Bulgaria. The melody and the steps of the dances are different, but the clothes of the women and the dancers' strain relief is the same!  

Delicious homemade cheese from Chernichevo

The people in the village of Chernichevo in Rhodope mountains produce cheese with a millennial know-how, preserved to this day in the village.



Cheese and yellow cheese here are manufactured in the same way as locals did it centuries ago. They say that a boiled milk must be "crossed" with a cold ayryan (to make cheese) or buttermilk (to make yellow cheese). This specific know-how must be maintained as part of the locals' traditional way of life and material culture, and to become the basis for future rural, cultural and culinary tourism in the area. Culinary travelers, tourists, restaurateurs, and authors of specialized TV shows, looking for the world's most delicious cheeses, will be amazed to try this one!

Best homemade cheese in the world!

I present to you Sevda Bostandzhieva - one of the most famous local experts on topics such as recipes, culinary practices, preparation and storage of food.

Mr and Mrs Bostandzhievi

This cheese is produced from 4 liters home-produced cow milk and a liter ayryan. Cheese can be produced from sheep's milk too.

When making the Chernichevo cheese, coagulation occurs almost instantly when airan is added, and then the fresh cheese curd is strained and washed. The curd is kneaded, salted, formed into small cakes and pressed under a stone. The finished cheese is kept refrigerated and dry until consumption. From about four liters of milk, about 200-300 grams of cheese can be produced. Production quantities, however, depends on the diet of the dairy animals. When pastures are richer, a larger quantity of higher quality cheese may be produced.

I can say without any hesitation that the cheese from Chernichevo is the most delicious cheese I've ever tasted! And believe me - I have tested dozens of different cheeses from various parts of Europe - from the green Alps and from the sunny Tuscan, from the fields of Wallachia and from the Cote d'Azur!

So don't delay - come and taste the most delicious homemade cheese in Europe!

The Healing spring in Chernichevo - the mystical power of faith

In the village of Chernichevo - far, far away, in the southernmost of Bulgaria - there is a spring with a mystical power.

It is believed that when one has a deep faith, the water from the spring can cure its disease.

The legend is a very old one, but there are some specific anecdotes which proves its truth. For instance, the story of the little boy Stanko, who was three or four years old, but could not walk properly. Nowadays the doctors might say it is a medical condition, a diagnosis with a specific name, but in 1910 the local people did not know that.

When something does not go well, and there are no logical paths to solve it, faith was the only reliable thing.

So Stanko's mother, Zlatka, brought him to the spring and washed him with the crystal clean and cold water. When she brought him back home, she left him alone in the room and went to do same work. When she entered the house few hours later, for her astonishment, Stanko walked around. Well, Stanko could not walk well at the beginning, but soon he learnt how to.

And if you wonder is it true, let me tell you something - I am Stanko's grandson. I know this story from my cousins, and from my grandmother. And other people in the village remember this story. That is why the locals call this place the Healing spring (in the local Bulgarian dialect: Ликууто врисче).

Look at Mrs. Dobra Anadolieva from Chernichevo - she tells this story on the video:

And the Healing spring still has a sacred meaning for the people in Chernichevo. Every year on the 6th of May (for Christians it is St.George's day and for Muslims it is Hıdırellez) the inhabitants of Chernichevo visit the spring, drink his water, light candles, tie threads from their clothes on the trees around the spring, and wish something. 

This is the local female folk singing group, performing a song at the spring: