Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Sofia scupltures adorned with gifts on Christmas

Photo: Ivan Shishiev - Sketches of Sofia

For the fifth consecutive year, the Sketches of Sofia initiative have delighted Sofia's residents with gifts placed at the city's statues. Every year, photographer Ivan Shishiev and his wife buy books for Sofia residents, wrap them up and place them at the statues in the city. The sculptures of Aleko Konstantinov, Pencho and Petko Slaveykov, Yan Bibiyan and the devil Fut, etc. dawned with books. 

This year, Shishiev surprised the capital's residents with 30 books by Charles Dickens, Terry Pratchett, Peyo Yavorov, etc. 

"We believe that a book gives meaning and has the power to create a future. And there is no better gift than the future," says the photographer.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

From palkenski dialect to standard speech – a Bulgarian language lectureship starts in Timișoara

Timișoara, a large multicultural city in western Romania, is the center of the historical community of the Banat Bulgarians . The members of this community are descendants of settlers from the Bulgarian lands nearly three centuries ago, who have..

published on 11/24/25 3:55 PM
Marian Serafimov

Marian Serafimov – a young man from Gabrovo who turns enthusiasm into change

In Gabrovo – a city in the geographical center of Bulgaria, once described as the Bulgarian Manchester, but today facing demographic challenges – there are young people who believe that the future can be better and that this largely..

published on 11/23/25 3:15 PM

Stela Nedkova and her Bulgarian corner in Brussels – a restaurant with traditional Bulgarian dishes

For 15 years, Stela Nedkova has been living in Brussels . After completing her education in Bulgaria, she decided to test herself in a different reality to see whether she could handle life’s challenges on her own, without her parents’ help. Stela faced..

published on 11/23/25 11:15 AM