How it All Began
Pictured above is my old neighbour walking his sheep
In 2007 I went to visit a friend & had some magical experiences
I fell in love with the Rhopdopi Mountains & the people
The adjacent photo is of myself & Jaylan in the early days learning about the town & its traditions from the villagers
To the right is the father of the old village mayor Borislav
Pictured below is what was their original family home for generations - until it fell into disrepair
It is up in the old village above the newer part that sits lower on the mountain adjacent to the road
Most of the wood had rotted through!
All that was salvageable were the stone walls
We kept the roof tiles - They were tastefully incorporated into the bathrooms & terraces
The walls were built using the traditional Bulgarian building style, the outer wood-stone configuration remains just as when it was originally built.
There was only a rough path that could be accessed on horse back, so we had to put in a road to access the houses
This is the new version of the house in the first picture, the wood pole is being used to judge the final planed rough height.
This is Jaylan who now runs the project with one of our building crew.
Every task was a group effort that included many of the villagers
.... they were all super kind & generous always available to help with the rebuild
The new build was a work of art considering the tools available
.... for example the garage is curved & on an incline, with a flat terrace & BBQ on top
