Sherkhan and I visited the only synagogue in Sofia. A man, who had been in the military for most of his life, was head of security at the synagogue. He said that despite the security around the synagogue, he didn't feel there was much of a threat. I asked because we had seen several swastikas spray painted around the outskirts of the city. He was very proud that Bulgarians saved all of their Jews during WWII. They only spent 1 to 3 months in a labor camp (only). While he was paternalistic about the Jews, I appreciated his enthusiasm.
The synagogue was magnificent. Bulgarian Jews are Sephardi, so the building was Spanish-style. The man said that there are 6,200 Jews left in Bulgaria and 2,500 in Sofia itself.
We met the Syrian guy again and prayed at the mosque again afterward. (Yes, we visited some churches too. It would've had more meaning if we were with a Christian though). The Syrian guy made a joke that a Bulgarian Muslim (who spoke English) was a student of bin Laden. The guy kind of brushed it off, perhaps because he didn't want to offend the older Syrian guy, or maybe because it's true. And, evidently, bin Laden in a distant uncle by marriage of the Syrian guy.
On the train to Bucarest, we sat with a very nice woman from Moldova. She made sandwhiches for us, but they were salami, and we can't eat pig, so we had to decline and felt guilty about it. But she was so nice. She made our beds and everything.
At the border, the Bulgarian guard gave me back my passport and said, "Here you are David Michael." Another guard walked by and sarcastically said, "Michael Jackson." I tried to stiffle a laugh. But it wasn't as funny as the dude in Sofia who was riding his bike and ran straight into a fucking tree!
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