Golo Burdo
The Bulgarians in Golo Burdo are among the most unknown of our communities abroad. It is located about 250 kilometers from the village of Sokolets, in Albania.
The appearance of Bulgarians in the mountains of Eastern Albania dates back to the Middle Ages - only 150 kilometers from Golo Bardo - in the Bitola Field at the end of the 7th century, proto-Bulgarians settled. By that time, the region had long been Slavified.
At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, the Islamization of the people of Golo Bardo began, which continued until the beginning of our century. Elderly people remember that their "old people" accepted Islam even during the "time of the Komitas" - after the defeat of the Ilinden uprising in 1903. However, people still remember that their ancestors were once Christians - in Golyamo Ostreni, for example, the place where the mosque was built is called "Na tsirkov" - according to tradition, the local church was once here. "Once we too were kauri (gyauris, infidels - i.e. Christians) like you, therefore we seek help from you!" - said a middle-aged man. Now, several mosques, which are mostly empty, remind us of Islam in the villages of Golo Bardo. There are no Khojas, and the people profess a kind of domestic Islam, which is closer to paganism than to the high dogmas of religion. With the few Christians who live mixed in 5-6 villages, they peacefully and together celebrate the old holidays. There are also cases when a Christian man marries a Muslim woman or vice versa, and their children receive names characteristic of both religions.)