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Life
in Troyan, Bulgaria - The Early Years of Agop Ormandjian Agop Ormandjian is a 73 year old Bulgarian-Armenian man. He is currently visiting his oldest daughter's family in Montrose, California. He lives in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he works in the University of Sofia as a professor of the Armenian language. However, he is originally from a small town in the Midwestern part of Bulgaria called Troyan. During his time there as a child, the population was less than 20, 000, with small houses and dirt roads making it look more like a village than a city. Although Troyan has changed a lot since those times, Agop still remembers the simple life he lived there. He worked in one of the town's many pottery stores and for fun, he would sometimes go to the local theatre. He attended elementary and high school there, where he learned several languages at once, in addition to studying the Bulgarian culture and tradition. Looking back, Agop realizes how much his life has changed since his time in Troyan  I was born
in Troyan, Bulgaria in 1935. I left Troyan because I found a job
in Sofia [the capital], and that's where I work now.I lived in Troyan for 20 years where I worked in a store that sold clay pottery, because that's something that Troyan is very famous for. The basic day in Troyan would be waking up in the morning, going to the shop, opening it up and getting ready for the customers. After the working day is done, there is really not much to do in Troyan for fun. You could maybe go see a movie in the small movie theatre, or in one of the few restaurants and you could meet up with a friend there. Other than that there is not much else to do. Usually over the weekend--Saturday and Sunday--there would be carnivals and festivals in the streets. There would be different venders selling things. People danced traditional folk dances. Bulgaria is known for their folk dances. At night, the local orchestra would often get together and play some music for the public; it was an old tradition that everyone enjoyed. On the
weekends, people would love to climb up the mountain because there
was a monastery called the Troyan Monastery, where people could
settle for two nights. It was like a hotel, people went to relax
and also they could go there to baptize their children. There
isn't a specific food that's well known in Troyan, but generally
the Troyan people make Bulgarian food. One food that Troyan as
well as Bulgaria is known for are cheese turnovers, which is
basically fillo dough usually with cheese inside. But in Troyan,
they make it with vegetables, and they are very popular. Troyan
may not have its own iconic food, but they are world-renowned for
their brandy, which Bulgarians call rakiya. It's really delicious,
and it's also very good for you. Troyan
doesn't necessarily have its own unique culture. It's pretty much
based off the general Bulgarian culture. However, back when I
still lived in Troyan, there were two high schools where the
students would put on performances. There was the small theatre
where there would be theatrical performances. A lot of the time,
they had groups coming from places outside of the city to perform
in the theatre for the people and today that tradition is
continued. One
interesting aspect of Bulgarian culture is that there is a
festival called Kukeri, which happens once a year in various parts
of the country. People dress up with masks that look like the
faces of animals, wear costumes and hang bells off of their
bodies. It becomes like a big carnival and the point is to scare
away all the bad spirits and the bad energy, bad people and bad
animals. So that's a very big thing that's widespread throughout
the country and it's also celebrated in Troyan itself. The
city has changed a lot since when I lived there. Before, the
streets were cobble stone, where it was just bricks laid into the
ground, and there were only horse drawn carriages and donkeys.
Today, however, all the roads are paved, there are a lot of cars,
there are many new buildings and they just built a new theatre
building. However, there are two streets where they have
maintained the classical Troyan style, where you can find a lot of
local artists making pottery or you can go buy a set of metal
there. In fact, the town has changed so much that there are a lot
of factories now. So many factories in fact, that there is
absolutely no unemployment in the city. Everybody has a job. There
are so many job opportunities that there are actually not enough
people to take those jobs. No matter what, everybody has a job
there. When I
lived in Troyan all the houses were little, at the most two
stories high. They all had nice yards in front and currently it's
stayed the same. There might be a couple of buildings here and
there, more towards the center of the town, but generally Troyan
has maintained its small town feel with the small houses. In a
small town, everyone knows each other so we were all friends, we
all helped each other and we were all like a family. We always
helped each other. That was a really big thing-everything was
really a group effort. The town is more modernized, but it's still
a small town, so people still know each other and still help each
other; it's a nice place to be at. When I
was a young student in Troyan, the teachers were all very strict.
You needed to wear a uniform to school and were not permitted to
be absent from class. Everything seemed very serious and students
who graduated from high school in Troyan were pretty much
guaranteed a spot in a university, so that was a really good track
record. For me, Troyan was a great place overall. I have great memories and I have enjoyed my time there. I left Troyan for my job; I didn't leave because I didn't like living there, and just like any other person who leaves their hometown, I would like to go back and visit. That's my birthplace; it's my first home. Interviewed by Yervand Garboyan |
