Bulgarian Pomak (Bulgarian speaking Muslims) groom Kadri Pitarev, 23, (L) receives money as a present from relatives during his wedding ceremony in the village of Ribnovo, on December 29, 2024. The people of this Bulgarian mountain village are famous for performing their unique wedding ceremonies in winter time only. Muslim bulgarians are descendants of Christian bulgarians who were forcibly converted to Islam by the Turks, during the 14th, 16th and the 18th century. (Photo by Nikolay DOYCHINOV / AFP)