This village and what I saw and experienced there are... true mystery to me.

First of all, its name.

"Ribnovo" is called after "fish".

To be more precise, in English that would translate to something like "place of fish". I can't tell for sure, though, as I am certain there is a wonderous story hidden under this given name!

Moreover, it is located high in Rhodope mountain in Bulgaria, there is no river or lake nearby. Do tell! :)

Here are a few street views from the village that I took during an extended weekend.

Rhodopes is one of the most beautiful mountains in Bulgaria.

People here live simple a simple life, close to the land. Agriculture, livestock, canning food for the cold winters.

The most of the streets are steep.

The village has two mosques.

The inner sides of the houses are more important than their outer parts.

Plenty of breathtaking views around...

And so many children!

Just life...

I was told that the population of Ribnovo is more than 3000 people.
Interesting enough, this village appears to be much bigger that some of the towns down there in the valleys.

The photo above is the local school during the weekend. During the week days, the school yard is full of children. Trust me, not many villages have their own schools in Bulgaria. The most of the villages, there is a yellow school-bus that picks all the pupils up in the mornings and drops them back in the afternoon.

Now, let me cut to the chase, as some say!

The most interesting side of Ribnovo isn't its architecture or civic data.

The most interesting side of Ribnovo is actually its wedding traditions and rituals.

Just about a decade ago, there was a strict secrecy, the weddings were much more private and as a photographer, I tried a couple of time to get access but no luck. I had to "know someone who knows someone" if you know what I mean.

It seems, though, social networks and media coverage changed that. Probably for good.

Lately, I hear, there are exhibitions, special events for the media, even tourist agencies are sending groups of curious travelers to attend, of course, to the public parts of those weddings only.

Long story short, I finally got access to one bride preparation and one full wedding! Lucky me!

So before the bride is taken by the groom to her new home, she undergoes a long preparation that starts at her parents' house, with her face...

There is a special word for the brides here, "gelina".

The whole wedding ceremony lasts about three days and many things happen on the streets.

Of course, popcorns and pancakes being sold.

Fun fact about Bulgarian truck drivers, many put this fake license plates with their names in front, here it reads "Mussa".

The round dances with folklore music continue for two days.

Something popular in the past, nowadays I've seen it only here - put large banknotes on the bride and the groom.

Just if you wonder, the green banknotes are the biggest in Bulgaria.

100 BGN (called "lev", that is a Bulgarian word for "lion"), this is about EUR 51 or at the moment, about USD 53.

People dance to live music. I saw the musicians change during the days, like shifts, lol.

Younger women had these type of trousers.

Of course, plenty of observers.

I promise to share more photos and info about the traditions and the rituals here in future posts.

I hope you've enjoyed this! :)

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Have a great day!

Here is an uncomplete list of some of my equipment I use on a regular basis:

Cameras
	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
	Canon EOS M5
	Canon EOS 550D
Lenses
	Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
	Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
	Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
	Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
	Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM
	Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
	Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
	7artisans 35mm f/1.2
Strobes	Dynaphos Speedster
Flashes	Metz
Tripods and Mono-pods	Manfrotto
	Benro

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