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Sculptor Yusein Yusuf turns a fountain into a gallery in the forest

Photo: BTA

An art gallery in the middle of the forest – this is what eyewitnesses liken the roadside fountain with a gazebo near the village of Konche near Momchilgrad in the Rhodope Mountains to. The construction was started in 1985 by Yusuf's father, and a year later, when he passed away, the work was continued by his son.

Yusein Yusuf
When he returns to his native land from Turkey every summer, Yusuf, who works as a sculptor, step by step builds up and enriches the space around the fountain and the gazebo. Like the ancient Thracians, Romans and other cultures that passed through the Rhodope Mountains, he also dreams of leaving a mark. In return, he seeks the satisfaction of passers-by stopping to enjoy the roadside fountain. ‎


Four decades since the first stone was laid, the space has been filled with dozens of marble miniatures. Unfortunately, not all visitors treat their creations with care and preserve them.‎


‎"There are broken, stained and discarded marble slabs. I brought the marble from Izmir. But I'm not angry. I expect that there are people like that," Yusuf told BTA.‎


The master of the roadside fountain is already thinking about his next project, with which to enrich his art gallery in the midst of nature. He vows that as long as he lives, he will continue this work of his.‎



Photos: BTA


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