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Bulgaria
BULGARIABulgaria was established in 681 by khan Asparuh. The
country is located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black
Sea to the east. Its territory is 110,994 square kilometres and the population is about 7.305 million people.
Belogradchik Rocks The Belogradchik Rocks are a group of strange shaped rock formations located on the
western slopes of the Balkan
Mountains. Many of them have fantastic
shapes and are associated with
legends. The Belogradchik Rocks have been declared a Natural Landmark.
The eyes of God“The eyes of God” is a cave in Bulgaria, it is
declared as a Natural Landmark.
The marvelous bridgesThe Marvelous Bridges or Wonderful Bridges
are natural arches in the Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria.
PerperikonThe ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is
believed to have been a sacred place.
Perperikon is the largest megalith ensemble in the
Balkans. It is thought that the famous
Temple of Dionysius is situated at this
location.
The Seven Rila LakesThe Seven Rila Lakes are a group of lakes
situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2,100
and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level. Each lake carries a name associated with its
most characteristic feature.
“Sulzata”- “The tear” “Okoto”- “The eye”
„Bubreka“- “The kidney” “Bliznaka”- “The twin”
The Madara Rider is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in
northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara. The monument is dated to about 710 AD and has been on
the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.
MADARA RIDER
Christmas in Bulgaria
We celebrate Christmas Eve on 24.12 every year. We make odd number of dishes and decorate our home in Christmas spirit. On this evening everyone is with their families, it is a wonderful feast.
Christmas decorations
The KukersThe kukers are the Bulgarian carnival figures.
They dance around the streets to scare the evil demons and to exorcise the cold weather and
the winter.
Lazarovden (St. Lazarus’ Day)
Only young girls can take part in the ritual. It is
celebrated on the Saturday before Easter.
The girls who are wearing special
costumes go around the village, visiting from
house to house singing their ritual songs. One of them carries a basket to collect the eggs which
the people give them as a present for their visit.
Panagyurishte TreasureThe Panagyurishte Treasure
is a Thracian treasure . It consists of a phiale, an
amphora and seven rhytons. All of the objects are richly decorated with scenes of Thracian myths, customs
and life. As one of the best known surviving artifacts of
Thracian culture, the treasure has been displayed at various museums around
the world.
RILA MONASTERY
The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, known
as the Rila Monastery is the largest
monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the
southwestern Rila Mountains. The
monastery is named after its founder, the
hermit Ivan of Rila.
KoprivshitsaKoprivshtitsa is a historic town in Bulgaria. It was
one of the centres of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and for its folk music festivals, making it a very
popular tourist destination.
The Rodopes
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in
Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its
area in southern Bulgaria. The region is particularly notable for the Karst areas with
their deep river gorges, large caves and
specific sculptured forms.
MelnikMelnik is a town in
southwestern Bulgaria. It is an architectural reserve and
96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria.
AlbenaAlbena is a major Black Sea resort in
northeastern Bulgaria. It is one
of the purpose-built resorts on the
Bulgarian Black Sea coast and has
a unique architectural style.
Asen's Fortress
Asen's Fortress is a medieval fortress in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains.
The Trigrad Gorge is a canyon of vertical marble rocks in the Rhodope Mountains. It is in Smolyan Province, one of the
southernmost provinces of Bulgaria.
THE TRIGRAD GORGE
SofiaSofia is the capital of Bulgaria and the biggest
city. It is located in the western part of the country. Sofia is the 15th largest city in the
European Union with a population of around 1.3 million people.
HISTORY OF THE CITY
Sofia's history spans 2,400 years. Its
ancient name Serdica derives from the
local Celtic tribe of the Serdi who
established the town in the 5th century BC.
Legend of Saint SophiaSaint Sophia had three daughters: Faith, Hope
and Love. They are said to have been martyred during the reign of Hadrian. The
guards took Sophia's daughters and beat and tortured them to death.
Sophia buried her daughters' bodies and
remained by their graves for three days until she
died herself. The capital Sofia is named after the Church of Saint Sophia
and there is a monument in her honour in the city.
ST. ALEXANDER NEVSKY CATHEDRAL
St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Orthodox cathedral in Sofia. It is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world.
It is also the second-
largest cathedral on
the Balkan Peninsula
and one of Sofia's
symbols.
Interesting facts about BulgariaBulgaria is one of the oldest European
countries and is the only one that has never changed its name ever since it
was founded.The Bulgarians were the first people to
use the Cyrillic Alphabet.
The Bulgarian Army is the only force in
the world which has never lost a single
flag in battles.Bulgaria was the only
European country to save its Jews during the Second World
War.
BULGARIA THEN AND NOW
The oldest golden treasure in the
world was found in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria is second in the world in
international IQ test and SAT scores.
Great Bulgarian peopleThe first wrestler in the world with 1500
wins and only two lost matches is the Bulgarian- Dan Kolov.
The inventor of the first electronic computer John Vincent Atanassoff is of Bulgarian origin.
The Bulgarian folk song “Izlel e Delio Haidutin” sang by Valia Balkanska, was sent in deep space on the board of the US Space Probe- Voyager 1 as a message to an alien intelligence.