The Saga of Fakiya. A Collection of Stories about the Everyday Folklife

Balcho Neykov is one of the first generation of Bulgarians, who in already Free Bulgaria started to think about the recent past - the generation of Ivan Vazov and Zahari Stoyanov. He has an inimitable historical sense - he is interested in everything that deserves attention that must be heard and studied, remembered and passed on to the generations. In his notes, Neykov gives valuable information about Stefan Karadzha's early biography, as well as about the life, fate and struggle of Bulgarian emigrants in Dobrudja and southern Russia in the 1950s and 1960s. Moreover, he reveals the fate of the Bulgarians in the Russian-Turkish wars, tells about the migratory movement, the uprising of Alexander Ypsilantis and the revolution in 1848, about the fate and struggle of its individual heroes. Extremely rich are the reports about the village of Fakiya, Strandzha mountain and the Strandzha region and legends and traditions from Strandzha, some of which have preserved the memory of the medieval Bulgarian state.

This book by Balcho Neykov is purely Bulgarian, an invaluable source, showing how we, the Bulgarians, have seen, experienced and valued historical events in those times - times of difficulty and heavy obstacles, but also courage and endless stubbornness.