First time journalist at Balkanik Festival

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Being a Romanian, always wondered if I have a balkanik culture or not. 
 
Photo credit: Adelin San

Well, from Antiquity, the Balkan Mountains had been called by the local Thracian name Haemus. The Greek mythology says that the Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name.

There are many other information and legends about Balkans - this region, being a quite vast peninsula (which includs Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania,Greece and the European section of Turkey) is full of beautiful, distinctive cultural grounds.
Photo credit: Ia-ti o Poza la Portofel 
But..

What does it mean to have a Balkanik culture? Well, all these countries placed around the Balkan Mountains with Slavic roots, took a bit from Latin, Greek and Otoman cultural behaviour and apparently, this interesting mixture between these specific traditions and ancestry is called Balkanik culture.
Photo credit: Ia-ti o Poza la Portofel

Romanian people do not have this Balkanik identification so far - I never heared someone saying he/she is Balkanik, nor do I identify myself as a Balkanik woman. 

Even though, this Balkanik wave is so addictive, we all love it and in Bucharest there is organized each year one of the most entertaining Balkanik Festival. 

The event was under the initiative of Metropolis Association and takes place yearly between 9th to 11th of September.

Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc
The Festival is quite interesting: during the day you can buy traditional Balkanik artcraft and hand made cloths, ointments and other creams; I saw hand made pots and plates (usualy crafted by Gypsies - known today as Roma), I saw hand-made jewelry, I tried Balkanik food and beverage.
 

Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc

Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc
Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc
Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc

Photo credit: Bogdan Catalin Cazacioc
Food was amazing! They cook beans with pork, lam steak, vegetables stew and many more, outside, in a big cauldron, miammy!! I ate beans with pork, traditional Balkanink cheese cake (which is round and thin) and drank lots of stum.
Photo credit: Balkanik Festival
Photo credit: Balkanik Festival

Photo credit: Balkanik Festival
                                  In the night, there was Balkanik music of course: famous singers came and after parties were organized. In 2016 Omar Souleyman came to sing in the first day of the festival and was really amazing!!

Photo credit: Balkanik Festival



Source: Youtube (this is another concert)


Wish you a balkanik soul and a free spirit!

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