In October 2014, Ruben Nalbandyan, a renowned Armenian master sculptor, arrived in Pliska to see the site and receive guidance on the creation of the letters. He did not speak Bulgarian and spoke little Russian, yet he could sense the enthusiasm of Karen Aleksanyan, who explained how he envisioned each letter, its message and its place in the Courtyard. In just six months, the master and his students transformed that vision into reality.
The images and ornaments decorating each letter suggest not only words in Bulgarian and Russian that begin with it, but also convey the beauty and harmony of the human and natural worlds, united by universal Christian symbols.
The first sculpture, preceding the “arc of letters,” is the khachkar, the traditional Armenian Christian stone cross. Dedicated to the Christianisation of the Bulgarians, it symbolises the unity of the two ancient peoples within the history of the Christian community.
