The sultans of the Topkapi palace in Constantinople had tea cups
encrusted with diamonds and hubbly bubbly pipes decorated with gold
filigree. Marvelling at these, Cassandra created her Turkish
collection as she travelled on with her sketchbooks to Chora, St
Sofia, Ephesus and Kariye. From there, Cassandra discovered
Bulgaria. From the overlapping domes of Nevski cathedral to the
hidden Ivan Rilski monastery in the pine forests outside of Sofia;
from the scent of Bulgarian roses to the hillsides carpeted in wild
flowers.