At over 32 metres it is the largest Mary statue in the world and was finished in 2003. L is reminded of the Jesus statute in Rio de Janeiro which, we find out, is a ‘mere’ 6 meters taller. I get the feeling that the motivation for financing the project has almost as much to do with issues of national identity as it does with religious adoration, with asserting continuities that directly connect an edited past to the present, an on-going enterprise in some ways more obvious to me here than it is in Austria or Great Britain. In Austria, for example, where issues like road signs in two languages are still contentious for some they are no longer issues for me since I have long decided for myself in which direction to go. But in this region much of the political power seems to be wielded by parties that are ethnically/religiously committed and, while I lack the referents to be able to assess accurately what that means, I cannot imagine that a religious action of this nature can be carried out without intending it to be a clear political signal as well, especially since the region is traditionally predominantly Moslem.

The centre of the town has been renewed extensively and though textiles (cotton and silk) play less of a role than they once did, M tells us that it is still the centre of Bulgarian cigarette production. The café where we sit with a view across the square with its empty fountain is right next to the Registry Office and while we are there we are suddenly surrounded by wedding guests for the second time today. This time they are animated, not petrified, and have all kinds of cameras.