The smoke, Etara. |
Although officially an open air museum, the whole complex is a vivid hybrid of craftsmen & artisans at work in their shelters (you may watch them, ask them questions, and buy their ready produce right there on the spot); traditional food kiosks & restaurants; and a whole street of traditional 'National Revival' style houses.
Entry to the street of traditional houses. |
Each house on the said street is a mini museum depicting how traditional homes of various craftsmen (ironmongers, tanners, silversmiths, carpenters, weavers, to mention a few) looked like back in the day - typically, with working spaces & shops downstairs, and sleeping quarters upstairs.
At the end of the said street there is a large hotel, built in the same style, offering the option to sleep at the museum. If you are not lucky to secure a room in this hotel do not worry as there are several other guesthouses in Etara, outside the ethnographic complex.
Some of the craftsmen shelters. |
Lazar Donkov, the initiator of Etara crafts' village. |
Several times a year, the village hosts popular festivals & culture events. Meanwhile, outside the crowded days one may equally appreciate the village's beautiful settings, inhale the smells of smoke (among other things, prunes are being smoke-dried here to make the Gabrovian chocolate); wood; leaves and flowers; and listen to the ever present water.
Watch water at work in Etara:
Spinning a power wheel.
Sawing a log.
Doing the laundry.
(The latter one could as well be a spring water jacuzzii).
Text, photos and videos (c) Agne Drumelyte, 2013.
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