Take the number 72 bus to its last stop in the Fakulteta district, which is mostly inhabited by Roma. In one end of the bus, you have the option of enjoy a live drum performance and on the other,
Bulgarian pop folk – or ‘chalga’, music from the mobile phones of your fellow passengers. Unfortunately, there will come a point in which you will have to get off and continue walking. The boulevard you need to take is called “Resurrection” (“Vazkresenie”), and your experience on it may make you find some irony in its name.



First, you will pass by the church, which is an old metal shop painted in brown, then the school. Continuing along the boulevard, which at some point turns into a narrow, dusty street, you will reach a gigantic pink house in a style, which Bulgarians have dubbed 'nouveau riche Baroque'. With marble columns on the balcony and a fenced-in yard that is huge for the neighbourhood’s standards. The store is then on the second cross street to the left.

If there is nobody at the store, customers have to ring the bell of the neighbouring house. The woman takes a while to come, but when she does, she is all smiles. Upon entering the store, the bride-to-be and her future mother-in-law take off their shoes. The men remain outside.

Here, there is another peculiarity too: the bride chooses not one, but three wedding gowns, as the wedding takes place over three days. The first is the maiden day, on which she wears a red dress. The mother-in-law, together with the entire female side of the family, goes around the neighbourhood, passes by the central square with all the bars and takes the girl into the home of the groom. In front of his house, women dance the maiden ‘horo’ – holding hands in a circle, while men drink ‘rakiya’, or brandy. On the second day, the bride wears the next dress and on the third, when the main wedding takes place, she wears a white dress. Most commonly, the wedding takes place in the school that can fit between 600 and 2,000 people.

Only in this wedding salon you’ll be able to find dresses in all colours: pink, orange, clack, clue, yellow, green, red, silver and gold; decorated with zirconium, glitter and sequins; with and without hoops; priced between 70 and 500 leva (around 35 to 250 euro). Most of the clothes have exotic origin: only a few come from Bulgaria, the rest is mostly imported from Turkey, Pakistan or Persia, and their oriental beauty is really stunning. They also come with exotic jewellery – from glass and metal. “It doesn’t stain the skin,” clarifies the saleswoman.

* This story is part of the Alternative Cultural Guide to Sofia. The guide was created by students from Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski. Initiated by associate professor Alexander Kiossev, it was supported by the Sofia University’s Academic Research Fund. The texts, published in Bulgarian by the student magazine Piron, were edited by Lyuboslava Ruseva, and translated into English by BalkanTravellers.com.