Bulgaria is a fascinating country which will leave the visitor charmed and excited to come for more. It has five neighbours Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. Bulgaria can be divided into three different regions, taking their names fro when they were first recorded by the Classical Greek scholars as Thrace, Moesia, and Macedonia. There are two main areas of mountains in the country; in the southwest the Rila and Pirin dominate the skyline whilst in the east where Rhodope Mountains offer a lower but larger alternative. The Danube is the country’s most important and impressive river, but other important aqua landmarks include the Struma and the Maritsa rivers, which are located in the south of the country. This is of course excluding the Black Sea, which plays an important part in Bulgaria’s culture and growing tourism industry.

Bulgarian People

A vast majority of the 7 million people are ethnic Bulgarians, but there are also sizable minority groups including Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%) according to the census in 2001. The population has been stagnating or decreasing in recent years as many people have left the country seeking work abroad and there exists a lower than average fertility rate.

Climate

The climate is temperate with cool, damp winters, extremely hot, dry summers, and a Mediterranean influence along the Black Sea coast. The Balkan Mountains to the south of the country create a barrier effect which influences the climate greatly no matter where you are in Bulgaria. There is about 630 millimetres of rain every year, with the north receiving more rain than the south. In the southern parts of the country the summers can get very very hot, well over 40 degrees Celsius, with the highest temperature on record as 47. If you want a cooler time, then you have to either head to the coast or up in to the mountains.

Culture of Bulgaria

Much of Bulgaria’s culture lies in its history, this probably explains why it has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are the ancient city of Nesebar, two Thracian tombs, the Varna Necropolis, the Pirin National Park and the Srebarna Nature Reserve and the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery and the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo. This large gathering of such wonderful sights is partly thanks to the county’s position between the western and eastern world.

The rich folk music and dance in the region is unique and widely celebrated but its not only the old which should be of interest to the visitor but also the modern as Bulgaria gave the world John Atanasoff, the father of the modern digital computer as well as such opera singers like Boris Christoff, Ghena Dimitrova, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Raina Kabaivanska.