site.btaBulgarian Consul General in Thessaloniki: We Have Managed to Immortalize Individuals of Importance to Bulgarian History

Bulgarian Consul General in Thessaloniki Anton Markov said here on Sunday: "We have managed to immortalize individuals of importance to our history." He was speaking at the unveiling of a memorial plaque to Bulgarian poet Atanas Dalchev and his brother Lyubomir Dalchev at the Bulgarian Consulate General in Thessaloniki, their hometown.

In his speech, Markov said: "I am very excited about today because it is a very good day for the Consulate General. A few months ago, when we met with Mr. Kiril Valchev, Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency, we decided that we should do something for the Bulgarians in Thessaloniki - to immortalize our individuals who are important not only for the history of Bulgaria but also of Greece. We decided and started this event as a joke. We wanted it to happen for Atanas Dalchev's birthday, but for objective reasons we couldn't. Then we gave ourselves a deadline that we would do it by September 15. I am happy that we succeeded. I would like to thank the relatives, the Dalchev family and all the special guests who have come here for this very important event. I am sure that the Bulgarian News Agency and the Consulate General in Thessaloniki will continue to do only good deeds in the future."

Poet and translator Atanas Dalchev was born in Thessaloniki on June 12, 1904. For his 120th birth anniversary this year, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) published an issue of its LIK magazine "In the Deep Footsteps of Atanas Dalchev", which has already been presented in Sofia, and on September 15, on the date of the traditional first day of school in Bulgaria - in his hometown. BTA and the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Thessaloniki together unveiled a memorial plaque for Atanas Dalchev and his brother, artist and sculptor Lyubomir Dalchev, born on December 27, 1902 in one of the then Bulgarian neighborhoods of Thessaloniki. Inscribed on the plaque is also the line from Atanas Dalchev's poem Cuckoo with his recollection of passing through Thessaloniki with his grandmother as a child.

Among those present at Sunday's event were: BTA Director General Kiril Valchev; Victoria Dalcheva, daughter of Atanas Dalchev, and other members of the family; Prof. Huseyin Mevsim, professor of Bulgarian language and literature at Ankara University and author of the book Atanas Dalchev in Thessaloniki and Istanbul; Prof. Mihail Nedelchev, professor and researcher in theory and history of literature at New Bulgarian University in Sofia, editor of the two-volume book of Atanas Dalchev's works published by Bulgarian Writer in 1975, and author and editor of studies on the poet; Boyko Vassilev, journalist and presenter on Bulgarian National Television; Assoc. Prof. Georgi Lozanov, Editor-in-Chief of LIK magazine; and Iriney Konstantinov, actor with recordings of Atanas Dalchev's poems and Sofia Theatre Director.