Bulgaria-West

** Bulgaria ** 

**﻿** **__Location:__**  Bulgaria is in Southeastern Europe and borders Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and the Black Sea. This country lies at 43° N and 25 ° E.

**__Place:__** __ Climate: __ cold damp winters, hot dry summers __ Natural Resources __ : bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, coal, timber __ Terrain: __ Bulgaria is divided into four major physical regions. In the north is the Danubian Upland. It’s characterized by hills and plateaus with rivers and valleys. From the west towards the center of the country are the Balkan Mountains, which consist of summits 3,000 to 7,000 feet high. To the south of the Balkan Mountains, there is the Thracian Plain. It’s characterized by fertile lowlands and rivers. The southwest of Bulgaria is a mountainous terrain called Rhodope Mountains. The highest summit of the mountains is located in the west and is 9,596 feet high.

__Languages__: Bulgarian (official – 85%), Turkish (10%), Roma (4%)

__Religions__: Bulgarian Orthodox (83%), Islam (12%), other Christian (1.2%)

__Government:__ parliamentary democracy

__Currency:__ lev (BGN)

__Culture: __ The Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Romans and Slavs have influenced the culture of Bulgaria.

Musical instruments:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">gaida (bagpipe) - symbol of Bulgarian heritage and culture
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">kaval (rim-blown flute)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">zurna or zurla (similar to oboe)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">tambura (similar to guitar)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">gadulka (violin-like)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">tapan (large two-sided drum)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Traditional music and dances are not popular among youth, but are often performed during weddings and feasts. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Bulgarian music is described as folk music. It has become more popular in Europe because of one choir named Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir. Their album, //Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (//The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices), has become very popular by topping world music charts accross Europe.

__﻿__ __<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Customs: __ __﻿__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__Nestinarstvo__ (firedancing) is a custom involving dancing in fire or on live embers. Women dance without shoes on live fire or embers without suffering injuries. In the past, it has been performed to honor the gods. Today, it’s mostly performed for tourists.



<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__Kukeri__ is a ritual performed by men to scare off evil spirits. The men are dressed in fur and wear masks while dancing, jumping and shouting in order to banish evil spirits from the village. The way this ritual is performed varies depending on the region.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__Bulgarian Cuisine__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Most Bulgarian dishes are baked, steamed or in the form of a stew. A very important component is a salad, which is required with every dish. The most common meat cooked is pork. Fish and chicken are also popular, while beef is much less common because cattle is used for milk rather than meat. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">__Traditional Bulgarian Food:__
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Lukanka – spicy sausage
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Tarator – cold soup made with cucumbers, dill, garlic, yoghurt and walnuts
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Bob Chorba – bean soup
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Drob po selski – chopped liver with onion
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Skara – stuffed meatballs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Turshiya – pickled vegetables
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Halva – similar to fudge, but made from sesame seeds (the Haskovo and Yablanitsa regions are most famous for their halva)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Kompot – light, refreshing drink made from dried fruit



<span style="color: #2c0bd0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">**__Human-Environment Interaction:__** <span style="color: #2c0bd0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">Birdwatching:Birdwatching in Bulgaria runs numerous birding trips throughout the year.It's a one day trip around Sofia takes in Votisha nature park and Dragoman Marsh.In the trip it's possible to sight ferruginous ducks,sedge warblers and black woodpeckers. <span style="color: #2c0bd0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">

<span style="color: #2c0bd0; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24px;">Horse Riding:It could be up to a eight day treks in Western Balkan Range based around Koprivshtitsa and around Strandzha Nature park

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** __Move__﻿__ment:__ ** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">In Bulgaria people travel in so many different ways. They travel by airplanes, trains, and roads. The airports and the roads are either paved or unpaved. There are a total of 130 paved airport runways and 80 unpaved. There are 39, 587 km paved roads, including express ways, and 644km of unpaved roads. Bulgarians comminicate with other people around the world using telephones/cellular phones. 2.164 million people use main lines and 10.617 use mobile cellular phones. The country's telephone code is 359. There are currently 4 national television stations; 1 state owned and 3 privately owned. The state owned radio braodcasts over 3 networks, especially in urban areas. Many people use the internet too. There are 785,456 internet hosts and 3.395 million users. The country's internet code is .bg. media type="youtube" key="pKyHDv2bzOs" height="345" width="420" align="center"

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">__Regions:__
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Bulgaria is divided into 28 provinces. Each one is named after its capital.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">__﻿__

<span style="color: #8b00ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">__**Trip Itinerary:**__
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__**﻿**__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Day 1: Sofia﻿**__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">This is the capital of Bulgaria. It is the largest city in the country and the 12 largest in Europe by population. The town is very old. The walls date all the way back to before 7th century BC. Sofia has several museums to visit. Two of which are the National History Museum & Bulgarian Natural History Museum.They have many architectural bulidings to check out. Roman, Byzantine, and Bulgarian buldings hsve been preserved. There are so many places to visit in just this onecity. We would travel here because it has beautiful land and bulidings that just by looking at them you could tell its history. We would visit places like Lake Ariana, the royal palace, National Place of Culture, and Sofia Zoological Garden, and so many more wonderful places.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Day 2: Plovdiv**__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">﻿This is the second largest city in population. Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe. It’s older than Rome, Athens and Constantinople. The first traces of civilizations are from 8000 years ago. This city has so much history in it. We would visit the Roman Theatre. It was built in the beginning of the 2nd century during the Roman Emperor. This theatre can hold up to 7,000 people! Today, the theatre is used throughout the summer for different performances such as shows or concerts.

**__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Day 3: Vidin Region __** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">On the third day of the trip, we would travel to Vidin Region. The first place we will visit is the Magura Cave. It is one of the longest caves in the country. The uncovered passages are over 2,500 meters long. While traveling, we will encounter incredible rock formations that include “The Big Stalactone” – a stalactite over 20 meters high and 4 meters in diameter. Next, we would travel to Belogradchik Rocks. The Belogradchik Rocks are Bulgaria’s most remarkable rock formations. They have been shaped by rain, wind and running water over the last 200 million years, and portray mythical creatures, towers, fortresses and people, some reaching over 200 meters. The rock formations are a natural fortress which has been used since ancient times throughout three periods of time: the Roman ( I-IV c.), Medieval (VII-XIX c.) and Ottoman (1805–1837). The last attraction of the day would be the Baba Vida Castle, the only fully preserved medieval castle in Bulgaria. The castle served as a military stronghold as well as a feudal castle for the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdom (X-XIV c.).



__**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">﻿Day 4: Veliko Turnovo Region **__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The Madara Horseman is a sculpture sculpted 23 meters above ground on a vertical cliff. It was created at the beginning of the 8th century by an unknown sculptor. It symbolizes the beginning of a new era, when the Byzantine Empire recognized the creation of the Bulgarian State. Inscriptions around the sculpture contain the first written data on Bulgarian history. Below this sculpture is a cave called the Nymph’s Cave, in ancient times people believed that the gods lived in that cave. At the end of the day we would see the audio-visual show of Bulgarian history on the Tsarevest Hill. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**__Day 5 Vitosha Nature Park__** <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">On the fifth day of the trip, we will visit Vitosha Nature Park. The park is divided into two parts: Bistrishko Reserve and Torfeno Reserve. There are a lot of different species of animals, including endangered species such as: the black stork, golden eagle, viper and mountain lizard. Other species of animals in the park include wolves, foxes and deer. The bear population is slowly being restored in the park. The park is not only famous for its wildlife, but also the mountains. There are ten peaks in Vitosha that are over 2000 meters high. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**__Day 6 Varna__** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The city of Varna is one of the biggest cities on the Black Sea coast. It is full of gardens, museums, vineyards and markets. One of the most interesting gardens is the Sea Garden. The garden is full of tourist attractions such as: the Natural Science Museum, the Naval Museum and the Copernicus Astronomy Complex Planetarium. Here, one can also find the only Aquarium and Dolphinarium in the country. There are also tennis courts, swimming pools similar to a water park. The city has plenty of small cafes and restaurants featuring famous Bulgarian food. __**﻿**__ __**﻿**__

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">__**Day 7: Pirin National Park**__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The Pirin National Park is the larges park in the country. It includes parts of the Pirin Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, caves and forests. Tourists can encounter incredible views as well as unique plants, trees and wildlife.