Monday, 20 May 2013

Curiosity Chest


Electric Candle Is Fine, Online Blessing - Not

Sound blasters and electric candles, that are switched on by dropping a coin, have long infested Christian churches around the world. Yet virtual prayers and blessings remain controversial... Full Story



Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia’s Bitter Bouquet: the Sarajevo Rose

Sarajevo carries all kinds of traces of its past in its cityscape. And while some of them are easy to notice, one – despite its prevalence, can be missed quite easily: the Sarajevo Rose, a scar in the ground and a daily reminder of the horrors... Full Story


Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Archaeology Artefacts from Ancient Odrysian Kingdom Displayed in Sofia

28 June 2010 | An exhibition, titled “The Treasures of the Odrysian Warriors,” containing over 200 unique artefacts from the ancient Odrysian kingdom, will open at the National History Museum of Sofia on Tuesday. Full Story


Balkans
Ancient Figurines from Macedonia, Albania, Romania, UK and Japan Displayed in England

22 June 2010 | An exhibition, titled unearthed, brings together and displays prehistoric ceramic figurines from the Balkans and Japan for the first time, at the University of East Anglia’s Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Full Story


Bulgaria
Open Air Archaeology Exhibit Underway in Bulgaria’s Capital

21 June 2010 | An open air exhibition, titled “Golden Thrace – Images of Deities, Humans and Animals” is on display along the pedestrian bridge near the National Palace of Culture (NDK) until July 4. Full Story


Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tito's Nuclear Bunker in Bosnia to Host Contemporary Art Biennale

18 June 2010 | Built to withstand a 20 kiloton nuclear explosion, the bunker of the late Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, located near the Bosnian town of Konjic, has found quite a different role more than thirty years after it was built - as... Full Story


Serbia
Serbia: Tito's Mausoleum in Belgrade

Whatever your opinion on communism, many people across Eastern Europe and the wider world have a romanticised view of the former Yugoslavia’s grand leader Josip Broz Tito. Full Story


Serbia
Serbia's Football Mania: Collecting Stickers in Belgrade

The World Cup is about much more than what takes place on the field. For many Belgraders, the daily exchange of football stickers is just as exciting. Full Story


Greece
Exhibition of Ancient Greek Theatre Art to be Displayed in the Getty in Los Angeles

14 June 2010 | The exhibition “The Art of Ancient Greek Theatre,” which will open at the Getty Villa in Malibu in August will be “the first exploration in nearly sixty years of the many ways Greek plays and stagecraft inspired classical artists,... Full Story


Greece
Greece: Archaeological Museum Displays Eretria’s Ancient Treasures

7 June 2010 | The exhibition “Eretria: Insights into an Ancient City,” which showcases the life of an antique Greek city through excavation finds, drawing reconstructions, models and video projections, is on display at Athens’s National... Full Story




Epicure


Bulgaria
Pumpkin head!

If you wish to insult somebody in Bulgarian, you could call him tikvenik – a word whose Full Story



Useful Reads


Greece
In Sfakia: Passing Time in the Wilds of Crete (2008) | By Peter Trudgill

Crete has long been acknowledged as one of the most singular and unique parts of Greece. Its people keep a fierce hold on their traditions, customs and history. Practically a country of its own, this vast island looms over all others in Greece. Nevertheless, as In Sfakia author Peter Trudgill aptly notes in his preface, “some parts of Crete are more special than others, and Sfakia, on the remote south coast, is certainly one of those.” Full Story




Music


Macedonia
Macedonia: Esma Redžepova's Passion for Humanity

"A Gypsy from the city of Skopje", as she calls herself, Esma Redžepova has more than 40 years of singing and humanitarian efforts under her belt. Full Story