Bulgaria: Highest Peak Keeps ‘Arabic’ Name For Now
By Mariya Cheresheva
The nationalist campaign to change the ‘Arabic-sounding’ name of the highest peak in Bulgaria, and rename it after a Christian saint, has suffered another setback.
The Bulgarian Presidency’s committee on naming objects of national significance and communities has refused to back a call to rename the Musala peak, the highest point in the country, after Bulgaria’s patron saint.
The presidency rejected the appeal, filed by Sofia’s regional governor, Ilian Todorov, on the grounds that it requires expert consultations and “serious public debate”, a letter to the regional administration, quoted by Focus agency, reveals.
The commission pointed out also the unclear etymology of the name of the 2,925-metre-high summit, which some believe comes from the Arabic word “musalla” – a place for Muslim prayer.
Another reason why it rejected the claim is that changing the name of the peak would mean redoing maps, documents and tourist guides, which is not seen as desirable at the moment.
Todorov has repeatedly asked President Rumen Radev to change the “Turkish-Arabic” name of the peak to St Ivan Rilski, one of the most important saints of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the patron saint of Bulgaria.
He denied being inspired by a desire for “political dividends, egoism, pride or fame. God and the Orthodox faith are the only and leading motive,” he said in a letter of July 27.
This was not the first time that Todorov’s nationalist Ataka party has demanded that the Presidency changes Musala’s name.
In 2016, the party submitted a similar proposal to ex-President Rosen Plevneliev, who again did not support it.
The name of the Musala peak dates from the period of Ottoman rule in Bulgaria, which lasted from 1396 to 1878. Between 1942 and 1962 it was renamed after Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
