The Bulgarian Mafia

Since arriving in Sofia I have heard a lot of  talk about a powerful Mafia presence in Bulgaria. And one sees the evidence everywhere which include lots of tough looking guys sitting around in hotel lobbies and restaurants and large black luxury vehicles such as BMWs, Mercedes and Hummers with black tinted windows cruising the streets.  

On Sunday I had a first-hand Mafia experience: I decided to have lunch at an attractive outdoor cafe and sat down across from two stereotypical mafia guys who I initially didn't pay much attention to.  They looked almost identical, both having close-cropped hair, dark sunglasses, black leather jackets, jeans and boots.  For most of an hour they sat drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, talking on their cellphones and surveying the area while hardly speaking to each other.  On the other side of me, parked illegal at the curb, was a shiny black Mercedes SUV with tinted windows.  All of a sudden one of the guys called the waitress and asked for the bill.  After quickly paying, they started to move towards the SUV when one of them paused sharply and went back to the easy chair he had been sitting in.  I watch as he reached into the side of the chair, took out a large pistol and tucked it under his jacket and into his belt.  He had apparently placed it into the side of the chair because it was uncomfortable while he was sitting.  He suddenly remembered it and went back to get it.  He noticed that I was watching but ignored me.  The two of them then quickly drove away. It was a scene straight out of the Bulgarian version of the Sopranos!

Below are a few links related to the Bulgarian mafia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Mafia

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6y5R6t4_-g

 http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/PupBulgaria.html

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7337210.stm

On Saturday I took a half day trip away from Sophia to the impressive Rila Monastery, a UNESCO world heritage site stemming back to the 10th Century, and one of the most impressive monasteries  I've seen.  The following link contains the history and some pictures of the monastery.

http://www.bulgarianmonastery.com/rila_monastery.html

 

In Bratislava

I arrived in Bratislava, the Slovakian Capital, late last night from Kiev after a missed connection in Prague and a five hour layover.  It was a long day and I wasn't a happy camper. When I have days like yesterday I think I should give up traveling.  And when I have days like today, I'm glad I'm still doing it.

Bratislava is only an hour from Vienna and not far from Budapest.  It was formerly called Pressburg and had large German and Jewish communities.  I had heard of Pressburg before but had no idea that it was modern day Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.  The Jewish population today is about 800 out of a total of 400,000+ of which 90% are said to be Slovak. 

http://www.chatamsofer.com/ is a website which tracks the Jewish history of Bratislava.  Tommorow, May 1, is the European Labor Day Holiday which I will have off and use to tour the city.  I will also see what Jewish sites I can find along the way, perhaps the Jewish Museum if it is open on the holiday. 

My hotel is next door to the embassy which is right in the heart of this very attractive city.  The city fathers have spent a lot of money since the breakup of the Communist Bloc to restore old buildings and to spruce things up. They have a beautiful old Opera House and apparently a very active theater and cultural scene.  Most of the narrow streets in the city center are for pedestrians only  and are filled with lots of outdoor cafes and restaurants.  It is typical of the cafe society one finds in most of the old cities of Central Europe. People sit in the cafes for hours visiting and drinking cafe, wine or beer while musicians play in the squares for tips.  I must say it is very pleasant, especially when the weather is nice as it was today, I only wish that Gertrud and a few friends were here to share it with me. 

The wikipedia page below has a lot of information on Bratislava's culture and history.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bratislava

Chisinau or Never

Elvis pronounced it differently but I know what he meant!  Why would anyone pay their good money to travel to Moldova -- a country that's stuck behind Romania and boxed in on three sides by the Ukraine. It's even difficult to find it on the map. 

But since "I had to come here for work" I'm coping and have actually found it quite pleasant! Chisinau (Kishinev in Russian) is a pretty city if one doesn't focus too much on the ugly public tenaments built by the Soviets.  It has beautiful, tree-lined streets, some impressive old buildings and churches, a very diverse cultural offerings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Moldova  and a vibrant street life with lots of pretty girls.  I must digress here briefly:

I don't know what it is about  Eastern European girls but they must all see themselves as being perpetually on the catwalk.  Gertrud and I first noticed this a couple of years ago in Riga, Latvia which we concluded had the most beautiful girls of any city we had ever been in. Everyone of them looked like they have just come from modeling school as they strolled around the city on their high heels.  Last week while having lunch in an Ashgabat restaurant, everything in the restaurant suddenly went completely silent as a blond Russian bombshell, who went up to at least 6' 4" in her high heels entered with a 6-foot guy.  She was perfectly packed into a tight fitting mini and I thought I saw real tears develop in the eyes of some of the older guys as they took it all in.  This vixen and her friend initially took a seat near the front door but then decided to move to the rear so that everyone could pick up their jaws and go back to eating!  It really isn't unusual to see such types in Eastern Europe. Many of them seem to prefer the "cheap blond" look, but others are really stunning!  One thing's for sure: none of them eat hamburgers, chips, T-bones or milkshakes!  America - wake up! 

But back to Chisinau:  Moldova is one of those little countries that has been a tragic pawn of history due to its size and unfortunate geographical location.  It is the "little guy" in the neighborhood who the bullies step on whenever they seek new territory or influence.  During its entire history, all or parts of Moldova have been under the Russians, Ottomans, Rumanians, etc. and has carried such names as Moldavia, Besarabbia, Wallachia and Transnistria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova.  Today the population is an ethnic melange of Rumanias, Moldovas, Lipovans, Cossacks, and Bulgarians to name a few.  In the 1890's Chisinau had a Jewish population of 50,000 out of a total of 110,000 or 46%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarabian_Jews  and there are apparently still about 30,000 Jews in Moldova.  http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/asw2005/moldova.htm.  Between 1817 and 1940 there was also a large German community http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarabia_Germans.  One sees only scant evidence of them today.

Despite major disadvantages, Moldovans have been able to sustain themselves over the years by filling important niches in the Eastern European viticulture and agriculture markets.  It's rolling hills are well-suited to wine-growing and are a major source of good quality wine for Russia, the Ukraine, Romania and other countries of the area.  http://www.vinmoldova.md/eng/section/34/.  Moldova also boasts that its winery in Milestii Mici is the largest in the world -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestii_Mici_(winery).

My friend Bill would like the violin music here because much of it has that melancholic Eastern-European/gypsy sound.  It's what his father used to play in the Wintergarten in Berlin.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9F6IIWdPw0&feature=related - (you have to wait a little until this really gets going)

Unfortunately I didn't have a weekend to see the sights of Moldova so can't provide much in the way of a first-hand knowledge. In a couple of hours I'll fly to Istanbul for the weekend and will work in Ankara next week.

Ashgabat and Turkmenbashi

Greetings from Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, a former Soviet Republic.  (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tx.html)   This isolated and land-locked country shares borders with Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakstan and also has a coast on the Caspian Sea, the world's largest enclosed body of water.   Turkmenistan belongs to the Turkic family of countries that also includes Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbajan.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_peoples

Ashgabat was established as a Russian village in 1818 on the ruins of an old Silk Road city that had existed since at least the 2nd Century BC.  It became the capital of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in 1925 and of Independent Turkmenistan in 1991. With the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ashgabat rapidly developed as the Turkmen capital, primarily around the personality of the country's dictator, Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov, who became known as Turkmenbashi -- Leader of the Turkmen.  http://www.neatorama.com/2007/06/11/craziest-dictator-ever-turkmenbashi/   Prior to his death in 2006, foreign media labeled him as one of the world's most totalitarian and repressive dictators, highlighting his reputation of imposing his personal eccentricities upon the country, which extended to renaming months after members of his family. He was known for an all-pervasive cult of personality which many say exceeded that of Stalin. It was reported that money under his control and held overseas may have exceeded US$3 billion.  Today Ashgabat is often referred to as "Marble City" due to the extensive construction of glistening white marble buildings and self-aggrandizing memorials that began during his regime and which continue to this day.  They have apparently been funded from the sales of the country' extensive holdings of natural gas. Western diplomats and visitors wonder who will occupy all of these imposing edifices and how they will be maintained. The hotel I stayed in looked fantastic from the outside but the rooms and service were very basic.  (It's the only hotel I have ever stayed in where guests can use the gym for free but have to pay $8 to use the treadmill because it draws electricity!) Despite it prosperous appearances, the country still has a cash economy with no ATMs and with credit cards only accepted for room payment at major hotels.  Internet access is extremely limited with only dial-up mode available under tight State control. 

Check out these pictures of some of Ashgabat's new buildings which are quite amazing
http://www.ashgabat.us/gallery/photo.php?photo=720&u=10976,32

I'm off to Chisinau later today. Where's that?

Paul