Pamir Mountains in central Asia and not western Siberia was the motherland of Bulgarians' ancestors, prominent historian and Sofia University professor Georgi Bakalov was quoted as saying by mediapool.bg on October 6 2008.

Bakalov presented the findings of a group of Bulgarian scientists who spent a month in Afghanistan searching for evidence. Until now, the official version leaned towards the notion that proto-Bulgarians' have come into Europe from lands in central Asia, with Pamir being just a theory.

The group of scientists have found similarities in the music and languages between contemporary Bulgarians and the people living in Pamir, Bakalov said.

Next to that he said that Bulgarian and Farsi languages were closely linked and words that today are considered from a Turkish origin in Bulgaria were actually coming from Farsi.

“We don't belong to Iran, but we do have a connection with it while there is hardly an evidence of Bulgarians in Siberia,” Bakalov was quoted as saying by mediapool.bg. The group has collected a lot of research that could change what has been thought in contemporary history books, he noted.

For this to happen, Sofia University had to send researches to work in Pamir and gather more material, he said. The Pamir Mountains are spread among Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China.