Photo by Frederick Moore 



BORDER POST ON THE) TURKISH-BULGARIAN FRONTIER 



The Turkish-Bulgarian frontier line here runs through the center of the bridge which 

 spans the River Struma. The Turk and the Bulgar doing sentry duty are, so to speak, on 

 the firing line; for mounting guard on a Balkan frontier is more than a mere formality — it 

 is a hazardous assignment. Raids by bands of irregulars across the several Balkan borders 

 have for centuries filled out the interstices of formal peace. 



never be forgotten by one who has vis- 

 ited them. Nearly 200 villages in the 

 sheltered valley between the Balkan 

 Mountains and the Sredna Gora are de- 

 voted to their cultivation. More than 

 18,000 acres of rose-bushes are grown. 

 The petals of the Damask rose are the 

 favorites. An acre produces 4,000 

 pounds of rose petals, and yet it takes 

 200 pounds to produce a single ounce of 

 attar of roses. Think of cultivating an 

 acre of ground for i 1/5 pounds of prod- 

 uct. The roses are gathered at the end 

 of Alay and the beginning of June, while 

 the partially opened buds still contain 

 their night-gathered supply of dew. 



Let us leave the village and follow the 

 Bulgarian woman to the city, watch her 

 take schooling and acquire culture, and 

 see how she uses it. 



Fifty years ago there were no Bulga- 

 rian cities — only great, straggling Turk- 



ish villages. Now there are a number of 

 very creditable modern towns. Sofia, the 

 capital and seat of court and parliament, 

 is of rather remarkable growth. When I 

 visited the regular, new city, my first 

 feeling was disappointment ; for it is flat, 

 devoid of picturesqueness, and at first 

 sight uninteresting. 



RESPONSIVE TO EDUCATION 



But after all is it not interesting that a 

 people so recently a set of down-trodden 

 slaves, living in chaos, should now have 

 a city of well paved and lighted streets, 

 comfortable houses, an occasional monu- 

 ment, a plain, substantial royal palace, a 

 public garden, and a well-equipped hotel 

 and shops ? 



The )^oung ladies who showed me over 

 their city were very proud of their schools 

 and parliament building, which I natu- 

 rally found very ordinary, and I confess 



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