By Elissa Jennings
The Harvard Crimson

The Harvard Bulgarian Club (HBC) joined with an unusual partner yesterday to publicly launch a photo exhibit on the nation of Bulgaria.

The photography featured at the event, which was planned with the Massachusetts Transport Authority, included shots of the Bulgarian countryside and villages, as well as some more unique ones, such as a photograph of girls stomping on grapes while making wine.

The exhibit, which is entitled "Bulgaria: Europe's Secret Treasure" and is located at Logan Airport, also offered visitors traditional foods, like Bulgarian sausages and baklava, as well as folk music.

The Bulgarian Club also performed several traditional dances like the ones that were presented at Cultural Rhythms last weekend.

The event, which has been available for viewing since Feb. 14 and will be available until March 31, was inspired by a similar Swiss exhibit in the same airport last year.

Two of the organizers, Evgenia K. Peeva '08, the co-president of HBC, and Divna Y. Gogeva '09, interned for Emil J. Wyss, the deputy consul of the Switzerland's Boston consulate, last year.

"I'm extremely pleased to see this young generation is eager to put Bulgaria on the map," Wyss said.

Over 150 visitors attended the event, including Elena Poptodorova, the Bulgarian ambassador to the United States. Most visitors, however, had little affiliation with the country.

"To be honest, we were expecting more Bulgarian people, but we actually had more non-Bulgarian citizens," said Dilyana V. Karadzhova '10, a member of HBC.

She added that the club hopes to have a similar exhibit at Harvard, probably later in March or in early April.

Peeva said that since the purpose of the event was to educate people who had little knowledge of the country, the organizers had "achieved our purpose."

She added that many viewers expressed a desire to learn about and visit Bulgaria after looking at the photographs.

Shawn Bell and Brian Perry, two local residents who attended the launch, said they found the experience both educational and enriching.

"I got a feel of the culture of Bulgaria which I wouldn't have had otherwise," Perry said.

But some viewers said that, given how little they knew about the country, they would have preferred to see a more comprehensive presentation of Bulgaria.

"Personally, I would have appreciated having a little bit of a talk about Bulgaria, and its historical and current culture and socio-economic background," said Erica Sigal, a local resident.

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