Paradoxically Moslem identity was sharpened by the measures to centrally control religion through the party apparatus and the edicts forcing the collectivisation of agriculture (and the resistance to them).

From the Bulgarian Communist Party point of view this made it imperative to increase pressure on the Pomaks to assimilate whilst at the same time physically removing them from the sensitive border areas. Exact figures are not available, but the numbers were large enough that those relocated in the interior could not simply be sent to already established areas. Thus two new settlements were established; one near Veliko Tărnovo, the other near Kazanlăk. The borders were then secured in three zones, as M told us last year – strips of 10 to 300 meters (absolutely prohibited), at 2 kilometres and at 15 kilometres. Access to these zones required special documentation (even for farmers) and a curfew was often imposed in specially sensitive areas.

In 1962 the Politburo passed a resolution forming the legal basis for for a new name-changing campaign. As has already been mentioned this was initially tested out on the Roma without much resistance from them and, as a result, in 1964 the Pomaks came under increasing pressure. Pomak party members were forced to become good examples and accept Bulgarian names which they did after initial resistance. The army became involved, along with administrative teams, but resistance was so strong that implementation measures were slowed down. At the same time the economic and social circumstances in areas densely populated by Pomaks was improved—e.g. by locating factories in the region—in order to insert a wedge between them and the Turks.

On the international front, Bulgaria signed a treaty with Turkey in 1970 which allowed Turks to emigrate (reunification of families) and preventing Pomaks from leaving the country with them became an issue. Thus a wave of renaming took place. Resistance was severely punished. Depending on the area, these name changes were effected either by a ceremony or by house-to-house visits in which a list of Bulgarian names was provided from which to choose.

A later Amnesty International Report gives an eye-witness account of events on a town in the Rhodopes, ‘in front of the House of Culture, a long red table was set out with all the local state and Communist officials in attendance. Armed detachments with loaded weapons at the ready were also there to ensure order. The Bulgarian Mohammedans were obliged to approach the table one by one over a long red carpet and hand in their old identity papers, and receive new ones made out in a new Bulgarian name and thank the officials publicly.’

The consequences of not conforming were initially bureaucratic in nature. Without the new identity wages and pensions were not paid and bank accounts were frozen. Neither was the certification of good character obtainable from the police. That was required for every job application. Over 500 Pomaks ended up in the penal colony Belene, an island in the Danube.

Thus throughout the last century, though not consistently, the Pomaks have served as a marker, effectively serving as the disputed demarcation line of Bulgaria with its Ottoman past.

Back in Velingrad we go for coffee and I visit a sizable ruined building in the middle of a residential area. B tells me that since the town is a spa resort many people used to come here on holiday and rented rooms from residents. The building functioned as a community centre  and communal dining room where events were held. Now it is deserted, many of the windows smashed. Outside a horse grazes on the surrounding grass and as we walk around the outside of the building its owner appears. B learns from him that he is a local resident. After the coming of democracy the state subsidies ended and there were a number of plans to adapt and reopen the place as a low-cost hostel. They came to nothing. Then a bakery rented the building adapting it to produce gingerbread. After the business got going the company wanted to purchase the building and land outright but there were complications which led to business being suspended and transferred elsewhere.