Dan C. Mihailescu: Bucharest - a Balkan, mottled, patchy world

Bucharest is a Balkan world, mottled and patchy like the legendary robe of Arvinte, a folk tale character who cut his sleeves to patch his elbows, then his skirt to extend the sleeves. There one could go from the medieval Court of Miracles to the latest model of BMW, and from Melik House to the ugliest 21st century architecture, literary critic and historian says in an interview to AGERPRES for the MY CITY BUCHAREST project.

He tells of his childhood, of the characters he met — relics of the interwar period, like fancy upper class ladies turned into dressmakers or factory owners who became car repairers.

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