A Greek discovered a deposit of rare jasper in the Momchilgrad region

Asmina is a specialist in mineral processing.

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“We found it not only for us, but for the whole of Bulgaria, for the whole of Europe, for the whole world. Not only for me or my wife. For the whole of Bulgaria. Because we live here and I am like the Bulgarians, here is our house,” Nikos is adamant.

This is not the first donation of an interesting stone that Nikos and Asmina make to the museum. Four years ago, the two came across a huge 60-centimeter agate. When they cut the stone to process it, it turns out that its core contains the colors of the Bulgarian tricolor.

“The upper part was white, followed by green and finally red. Asmina and I were adamant that the place of this agate is in a museum and we donated it. This is a treasure that Bulgarians should be proud of, so we donated it to The museum will be able to be seen by many people there, “explains the amateur geologist. He is extremely proud to have received a donation certificate from the institution, and their son from Greece is even arriving for the ceremony in Sofia.

“The Rhodopes are extremely rich in semi-precious stones. Unfortunately, the hobby of discovering them can be practiced in Bulgaria, but not in the Greek part of the mountain. You have no right to collect minerals there, because the law provides large fines and even imprisonment for those who they do it “, claims the Greek. He and his wife became passionate about collecting semi-precious stones after coming to live in Kardzhali.

“We have been living in Bulgaria for 10 years. Initially we had settled in Sandanski, but it was not peaceful there. We decided to live in Kardzhali and we liked it here a lot,” Nikos said. He was born in Katerini, but lived in Thessaloniki and Kavala. He retired as a soldier in the Greek army. He was an officer on a ship for 10 years, and then as much in the artillery. He and Asmina searched for a quiet place and found it in Kardzhali. During his time in Bulgaria, Nikos has learned Bulgarian and speaks it fluently. He says it was not difficult for him. The Greek also managed to learn Turkish. He often visits a friend in Ankara. Unlike her husband, Asmina, who has a harder time with Bulgarian, is not good at languages, but she notes that this does not mean that she does not like Bulgaria.

“People are friendly here, there is no tension, and the nature is extremely beautiful. Here we have witnessed unusual views. Nowhere else have I seen free-moving cows and deer and deer running around them,” said Asmina. She and Nikos often went on nature outings. They were impressed by the interesting and unusual stones in the places they visit. They began to collect them and so gradually became interested in geology.

The two began reading information about various minerals on the Internet. After hundreds of pages read, they joke that they are already real geologists, but without diplomas.

Even 9-year-old Labrador Sandy, who is the family’s pet, is involved in finding minerals. Nikos claims that the dog often finds interesting specimens.

“In order to reveal the true beauty of a stone, it must be processed. That’s why we bought machines,” says Nikos. Asmina is a specialist in mineral processing. She gladly and very patiently gives shape to the minerals found during the trips with Nikos.

“It’s always very exciting when you start working on a stone. You don’t know what a surprise it is inside. The minerals gradually reveal their beauty to you. It’s really very emotional,” says Asimina.

Gradually, the discovery of interesting stones and minerals became a major hobby of Nikos, who had previously been interested in native gold, meteorite discovery and played the Ionic. The only hobby he stays true to is radio. Nikos became passionate about them while he was still in the army and has been practicing his hobby so far. He has 3 radio stations in his home, thanks to which he manages to make contact with people from all over the world. He even has a radio in his car. However, he claims that it is a real pleasure for him to search for minerals, because it takes him to another world.

Nikos does not want to say where the orbicular jasper deposit is. The reason is that he has encountered human envy.

“Many people who love stones say: Why did Nikos discover the stone? Nikos is not Bulgarian, Nikos is Greek. I want to be first, not Nikos,” said the Greek. Despite the bitterness, Nikos and Asimina continue to feel at home in Bulgaria, and the mountain gives them freedom.

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