At 16, Alaa Hadid began cycling from Tryavna to Veliko Tarnovo and back — almost 100k through the Balkan forests, with more than 800m of climbing. Every Saturday.

A few months earlier, he had never ridden a bicycle.

For the first time ever in Alaa’s life, movement was not necessary.

The Syrian Civil War had begun when he was one. It took both of his parents. For most of his life, he moved because he had to. Now, he gets to discover what it means to move because he wants to.

A year after arriving in Bulgaria, Alaa came to live with Lily and Mladen Nedyalkovi, the first Bulgarian foster family to care for refugee children. In their home, he learned to ride a bike.

The forest he first encountered as a place of fear while crossing the border became a place he chose to return to.

This summer, I got to photograph this family’s joys and trials, as they await the final decision on Alaa’s humanitarian status. Join me in witnessing what they’re building together.

“No Man’s Woodland,” my first solo exhibition, opens in Sofia at @bobbina_cs on October 11 at 17:00.

“No Man’s Woodland” was realized with the support of the International Organization for Migration @iombulgaria’s project “Increasing the Awareness and Tolerance of the Society and Integration Support.”

The project is funded by the National Program of Bulgaria under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027 with the financial support of the European Union.