Shadows of silenced history: exploring Bulgaria’s dark tourism sites of Turkish persecution

This study analyses three dark tourism sites in Bulgaria linked to the communist-era persecution of the Turkish minority: the Belene labour camp, Ören Village, and Cebel District’s resistance monument. Employing a mixed-methods design visitor experience analysis, semi-structured local interviews, and historical document review it assesses how each site curates traumatic pasts, what visitors learn, and how such narratives might be ethically integrated into Bulgaria’s tourism offer. Results show three distinct interpretive logics. Belene functions as an “authentic ruin,” where minimal mediation enables direct affective engagement with material traces. Ören communicates through “present absence,” using loss, silence, and scarce remains to make violence legible. Cebel’s monument privileges agency, framing the past through resistance rather than victimhood. Triangulation of interviews and online reviews indicates strong educational effects: reported gains in understanding of systematic persecution (92%), resistance efforts (78%), and demographic consequences (65%). Although access and on-site services are limited, Belene attracts the highest ratings (3.9/5), implying that perceived authenticity and emotional intensity outweigh convenience. Conceptually, the study advances dark tourism research by theorising “present absence” and evidencing the commemorative capacity of low-infrastructure sites. Practically, it recommends authentic conservation, systematic testimony collection, balanced interpretive media, and community-led governance.