Issue 140

The wine and spirits market is in a constant flux and for a connoisseur following and understanding the trends is both exiting and a bit disorienting. There are few people who can better navigate the matter than Jelena Lalic, the new CEO of Pernod Ricard Bulgaria. Pernod Ricard is an international leader in distribution of high-quality wines and spirits, boasting the most comprehensive portfolio in the world. Before taking over its Bulgarian branch, the Serbia-born Jelena Lalic was the finance director of Pernod Ricard Adriatics.

Attar-bearing roses and beautiful girls in traditional attire picking them dominate the images that Bulgaria uses to sell itself to both Bulgarian and international tourists. The rose is on this country's tourist logo, and is all over souvenirs and promotional materials, from postcards and videos to rose-scented soaps.

This May, for two days, historians, archaeologists, restorers and experts in other fields shared their findings and ideas about the Bishop's Basilica of Philippopolis at a scientific conference in Plovdiv.

As we start a chat with the Greek ambassador in the elegant rooms of his residence in Sofia I keep thinking that Bulgarians are usually very interested in making comparisons between themselves and their neighbours. Grigorios Vassiloconstandakis is in a very interesting position to shed some light on that: he is Greek and he has had experience in both Istanbul and Bucharest. How do they compare to Sofia? There are many things that disunite the Balkans but is there anything that unites them?

It was also the seat of the patriarch, the head of the Bulgarian Church. Surrounded by his staff and underlings, he presided over a vast network of churches, monasteries and scriptoria.

There, icons were painted, books were written and the latest ideas in medieval philosophy were discussed.

A Hurricane of a Welcome