Presentation of our recent Erasmus trip to Byala Bulgaria

1. Byala Bulgaria
March 1 to March 6
BULGARIA ERASMUS
PROGRAMME

2. Local History; Traditional Song &
Dance Workshop

3. Local History; Traditional Song &
Dance Workshop

4. Local History; Traditional Song &
Dance Workshop

5. Local History; Traditional Song &
Dance Workshop

6. Local History; Craft Workshop

7. Local History; Craft Workshop

8. Local History; Craft Workshop

9. Art & Craft Display

10. Art & Craft Display

11. Art & Craft Display

12. Art & Craft Display

13. Art & Craft Display

14. Art & Craft Display

15. Bulgarian Language Lesson

16. Bulgarian Language Lesson
We learned that the Bulfgarian for Rooster =Петел//petel

17. Bulgarian Language Lesson

18. Irish Team on Byala Bridge

19. Byala Bridge

20. Byala Bridge Belenski most (Беленски
мост)
 The bridge was constructed between
1865 and 1867 by Bulgarian architect
and master builder Kolyu Ficheto on the
order of Turkish statesman Midhat
Pasha. While other architects were
willing to build it for 2 to 3 million liras,
Kolyu Ficheto was willing to build it for
700 thousand. When asked to confirm
this sum, he replied that Midhat Pasha
could take his head if he didn't succeed
doing it for this sum.

21. Italian Team
Claudia; Nic;
Francesca;
Claudia!

22. Byala Library

23. Orthodox Church Byala

24. Orthodox Catholics
 The majority of Eastern Orthodox Christians live
in Greece, eastern Europe,
the Caucasus and Russia,
 In addition to these fasting seasons, Orthodox
Christians fast on every Wednesday (in
commemoration of Christ's betrayal by Judas
Iscariot), and Friday (in commemoration of
Christ's Crucifixion) throughout the year.
 The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is
Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow

25. Orthodox Catholics
Churches are like our
Catholic Churches but
people do not sit; they
stand unless they are very
old or infirm
There are lots of holy
pictures called icons
throughout the church
People bless themselves
just as they do in Catholic
churches
The priest very often has a

26. Gifts at an Icon Altar

27. Inside the Church

28. Inside Another Church

29. Christening Party in Bulgaria

30. Bulgarian Wedding Cakes

31. Remembering the Dead in Byala

32. Russia v Turkey
 Turkey Controlled Bulgaria and much of Eastern Europe
for 500 years until the late 19th century
 This empire was called the Ottoman Empire
 Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, parts of
Russia were controlled from the Capital City of the
Ottoman Empire
 This city was called Constantinople, now Istanbul
 The Emperor was known as a Sultan
 The Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) ended with a decisive
victory for Russia. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe
declined sharply; Bulgaria was established as an
independent principality inside the Ottoman
Empire, Romania achieved full independence. The Russo-
Turkish War (1877–78) ended with a decisive victory for
Russia. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe declined
sharply; Bulgaria was established as an independent
principality inside the Ottoman Empire, Romania achieved
full independence.

33. Original Guns from the War in
1877

34. Children’s Interpretation of the
War

35. Children’s Interpretation of the
War

36. Uniforms from Russian-Turkish
War

37. Byala War Museum-- Swords

38. War Museum in Pleven

39. War Museum Pleven
Gatling gun manufactured in Manchester! The first machine
gun

40. War Museum Pleven
Religious medals to protect the soldiers during the war

41. War Museum Pleven

42. Velika Tarnova Historical Walk
Giant Catapult
& Arrow
Launcher

43. Velika Tarnova Historical Walk
A pair of Crusaders

44. Velika Tarnova viewing point

45. Byala School Building

46. Bulgarian Loos can be Different!

47. Bulgarian Teaching Staff

48. Baroness Yulia Petrovna Vrevska
The memorial to the volunteer nurses
Baroness Yulia Petrovna Vrevska and
Maria Neelova in the park of the
Historical Museum. The Baroness was a
woman of interesting fate. She became
a widow at 17 and came to Bulgaria at
36. At one time her husband was a
friend to the world- famous Russian
poet Mihail Lermontov; among her
friends were the great Russian writer
Ivan Turgenev, and the most popular
French writer of the 19th century -
Victor Hugo. Yulia Vrevska died of
typhus in Byala in 1878. A simple
monument to the Baroness was erected

49. Time Capsule; check out the
date!!

50. Time Capsule

51. Time Capsule

52. Time Capsule

53. Time Capsule
 We buried a Time Capsule in the garden of the
war museum.
 Each school included information, facts and
tokens from the school and local community. We
also placed information about our Erasmus
project.
 The Bulgarian school provided a suitable plaque
inscribed in Bulgarian with the burial date and the
opening date.
 The capsule was buried on March 2nd 2017
 It will be opened again on March 2nd 2037
 We will be all a little older then

54. Time Capsule

55. Municipality

56. Project Planning Meeting

57. National Day; March 3rd

58. National Day; March 3rd

59. National Day; March 3rd
Orthodox Priests attended

60. National Day; March 3rd
 Few holidays are as close to Bulgarians’ hearts as
Bulgaria National Day, celebrated on March 3rd. A
sovereign nation with its own distinctive culture,
government and way of life, Bulgaria became part
of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 14th
century and spent hundreds of years under its
rule. In 1878, following the end of the Russo-
Turkish War and the signing of the Treaty of San
Stefano on the third day of March, Bulgaria began
making inroads toward independence.
 In 1888, March 3rd was recognized as the official
day of Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman
domination, and generations later, in 1978, it was
declared a national holiday.

61. Typical Accommodation from
Communist Era; Ruse, Bulgaria
Blocks of flats would accommodate all the people
in Julianstown quite easily!

62. Communism Bulgaria
 I was 9 in 1989 so I remember a lot of that dark era. The majority of people were equal
in terms of income; 200 old levs on average which was equal to 50 USD a month on
the black exchange market. There was no legal way to buy dollars. Money were
enough for food and bills only. You had to wait 10 years for a flat, another 10 for a car,
5 for a personal computer but only if you were able to afford them. Automatic washing
machines were so rare too. It was a miserable life. We had access to bananas only for
a few days before Christmas and it’s not a joke! Our shops offered only bread, milk,
sunflower oil, sugar, salt, cheese, meat, vegetables and canned foods. Impotred foods
were unseen till the fall of the regime. It was the ultimate luxury to have a BMX bike or
a color TV. It’s funny but the richest people were the sailors and the TIR truck drivers.
Their kids were the most popular, we had parties at their homes, watching US movies
on their AKAI VHS players and SONY TV sets – what a luxurious experience at that
time! Imagine you only have 1 TV channel, 1 daily newspaper, both managed by the
communist party. Imagine you have no freedom of speech and expression. Imagine
you have the same dictator for decades. Communists were trying to manage just
about everything in your life, unfortunately by the worst possible way. Imagine you
can’t go abroad, except to some of the other socialist countries and only if you have a
special reason and permit to go there. Visiting Odessa in Ukraine was my mum’s best
trip and visiting Crimea as a marine was my father’s only experience abroad. Now
think of North Korea. Communism was the worst time for me, I hate it from the bottom
of my heart. Bulgaria is an entire different country now. If I had a time travel machine
in 1989 and was able to visit Bulgaria in 2016 I would have definitely cried of joy and
amazement seeing the freedom and the abundance Bulgarians have today. The grey
Soviet bloc buildings are the only ugly remainings of that era, but they won’t ruin the
beauty of Bulgaria for much longer.

63. Weddings in old Bulgaria

64. River Danube

65. River Danube
 One of the world’s long navigable rivers
 Second longest river in Europe
 You can take a large barge/boat on the river all
the way from Germany to the Black Sea
 The river flows through
Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Ro
mania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before
emptying into the Black Sea. Its drainage
basin extends into nine more countries.
 It is 2800 km long and passes through 4
capital cities

66. National Day Bulgaria

67. No Problem Climbing Trees

68. The Team + Bulgarians

69. Second Dance Workshop

70. The Erasmus Team