site.bta Monument of Cyrillic Writing to Be Erected in Antarctica

Monument of Cyrillic Writing to Be Erected in Antarctica

Sofia, December 15 (BTA) - A monument to the Cyrillic writing will be erected in Antarctica near the Bulgarian base there. The initiative was announced at a BTA-hosted news conference on Thursday by prominent archaeologist Nikolai Ovcharov, Antarctic scholar Hristo Pimpirev, Mongolian Ambassador to Sofia Lkhamsuren Dugerjav, and Mladen Stanev, who chairs the Bulgaria-Mongolia Friendship Society.

The monument is nearly ready. It is 2.3 m high and weighs 100 kg. It was made to withstand the harsh Antarctic weather and to pose a minimum risk to the environment.

The transportation of the monument is a complex undertaking. First the monument will be flown in a cargo aircraft to Punta Arenas in Chile, then transferred on a seagoing vessel and last, taken to shore by inflatable boats.

Pimpirev said that the initiative for the Cyrillic monument in Antarctica has a long history. Cooperation in polar research between Bulgaria and Mongolia started ten years ago, and Mongolian researchers have used the Bulgarian base since then. Mongolia plans to set up a research laboratory near the Bulgarian facility. Pimpirev said that monument will be a symbol of the friendship between the two countries. Mongolia's official alphabet is Cyrillic.

Ambassador Dugerjav said that the first monument to the Cyrillic writing was unveiled a year and a half ago in Ulan Bator. The diplomat expressed a hope that the Antarctic Cyrillic monument will be officially unveiled next year.