Voivode Galab

Galab Voyvoda was a Bulgarian hajduk born in the village of Omarchevo. On reaching adulthood, he settled in Stara Zagora, where he fell in love with a young woman named Stanka Dermendzhiivanova. Although the Bulgarian was proud, Stanka rejected him. This led him to gather a small detachment and become a hajduk, known as Galab Voyvoda.

Driven by strong feelings for Stanka, Galab Voyvoda decided to kill her after her rejection. During the struggle, however, Stanka's father was killed instead. This incident caused him to leave the town and hide in the Balkan Mountains.

The Turks offered a large reward for Galab Voyvoda's capture, but he managed to evade their pursuit. In cooperation with Valko Voyvoda, they operated together in the Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora between 1823 and 1834. Galab Voyvoda usually spent the winter in the imperial capital.

Despite the separation between Galab Voyvoda and Stanka, he continued to express his feelings by sending her gifts whenever he visited the Uzundzhovo Fair. Stanka died in 1879 at the age of eighty-four or eighty-five.

In 1835 Galab Voyvoda disbanded his detachment and settled in Brăila, where he engaged in trade.