Strangers in Their Own Country

Strong through their unity, isolated by their traditional, ritualistic life rhythms, withdrawn from the outside world—the Muslim minority in Bulgaria is almost unknown in Europe and takes a very different approach to life than the Western one. In her search for a European conception of values, photographer Pepa Hristova has portrayed the Muslims in her homeland in a series of strikingly poetic photographs. Her staged portraits and snapshots of religious festivities such as weddings and circumcision celebrations break the silence of this national minority. In her photo reportage, she documents the feelings, desires, and fears of those portrayed and in so doing reflects on issues of identity and social dislocation, dignity, and the values of this population group on the margins of the European Union.