There are hamlets and villages in the Rhodopes that seem to have been forgotten by God and man, places where time has stood still. Even the people there are different – they live in awe and keep their fingers crossed that nature will be kind to them. They live a simple life but how many times does anyone ever remember they even exist?

A library on wheels is going on the road soon to take books to the people living in the Rhodopes. The colourful caravan will be taking books to small and remote villages that have no libraries of their own. The idea to have a library on wheels came to Alexander Karadjov, a young man who lives in the Rhodopes, as he puts it “by sheer chance, as do most good things.”

“We want to launch the “tour” on St. George’s day, May 6 because it is such a good day, a day in springtime that is symbolic,” Alexander says. “Until then we shall have to buy a caravan and adapt it to the needs of the readers - with book shelves inside as well as a tiny reading room, so people will be able to take up a book and read on the spot instead of taking home books.”

The library on wheels will offer new releases as well as Bulgarian classics. Alexander Karadjov is hoping leading publishing houses will respond to his request for assistance. The public can also donate books – but not just for the sake of cleaning out their own libraries.

Alexander wants to make people happy with the help of the sublime world of literature. Perhaps the reason why Bulgarians are among the unhappiest nations in the world is that we do not read enough.

“That may well be, but it is not as if they don’t want to read. There are many villages and hamlets where life has ground to a halt and people have no way of getting to a public library. There are people who can’t afford to buy books and I believe that through the years that is what has made them unhappy or at least not very happy,” Alexander says.

To be able to reach as many people as possible the library on wheels will start by touring Bulgaria… along its borders. Starting out from the Rhodopes in a westerly direction, it will pass along the border with Macedonia and Serbia, then along the Danube and the Black Sea coastline, to end up at starting point. And all this can be made to happen if 3,000 US dollars was to be raised – the cost of the caravan and of fitting it out. And even though just 13 percent of this sum has been donated so far, the idea is getting to be very popular and Alexander is optimistic that he will be able to raise the sum in full.

Whatever he may be undertaking, it is invariably connected with the mountain, Alexander says, the place where Earth and Cosmos meet:

“I don’t know if I could put my bond with the Rhodopes in words or whether it is something I alone can comprehend. It is the only place on Earth where my own energy and the energy of the surroundings are in complete harmony. My explanation of this is in the millennia-long history of the place. Many nations have passed through here, many cultures and all of this energy has contributed to the charisma of the place. The first thing that strikes me in the people living in the Rhodopes is how authentic they are. I have never seen people so pure, so archetypical, so genuine.”

Alexander Karadjov is a member of the Forgotten Bulgaria Association which endeavours to discover and popularize hitherto unknown but amazing places. He often plays the role of mountain guide or discoverer of new routes. And when he returns he describes, in his blog, the beauty of Bulgaria, the people he has met along his way. For his love of risks and his audacity he was declared “volunteer of the year” by Smolyan municipality:

“It is such a thrill to see the gratitude in the eyes of the people I have helped, it is something that pushes me on to continue. It is so gratifying to know you are not living just for yourself, that what you do helps the people around you.”

English version: Milena Daynova

Photos courtesy of Alexander Karadjov