WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

Sun, 03/01/2009 - 11:13

A Soviet diplomat came to this hamlet near Bansko in the early 1980s to look at some church murals that had been restored by order of Lyudmila Zhivkova, then minister of culture and daughter of Communist boss Todor Zhivkov. The murals, in a church dating back to 1611, had been obscured by centuries of dirt and smoke.

where in bulgaria are you 30.jpg
© Anthony Georgieff

The Russian walked inside the church with feigned interest, but suddenly he saw an image that made his jaw pop open: "But, my!" he cried, "This is just like a Soviet spaceship! You can see Jesus Christ in a Soyuz!"

That was the beginning of one of the most enduring urban legends in Bulgarian history. The 17th Century church is still being advertised as the only temple in the world where you can see Jesus Christ in a spaceship.

Where in Bulgaria are you?

Issue 30

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