Bulgaria Travel Guide
- Official name: Bulgaria
- Capital: Sofia
- Language: Bulgarian
- Religion: Orthodox Christian of Bulgaria 83%; Muslim 13%; Catholic 1.5 %; Jewish 0.8% and Protestants, Armenian Gregorian.
- Currency : Lev (1 lev = 100 stotinki), exchange rate: €1 = 1.95 Lev
Bulgaria Sights and Museums
- The Belogradchik Rocks is a group of bizarre sandstone and limestone rock formations, reaching up to 200 m in height. They form a strip, which is 30 km long and up to 3 km wide, and are located north of the western slopes of Stara Planina, near the town of Belogradchik in Bulgaria .
- The Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral is the largest and most famous Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in the Bulgarian Black Sea port city of Varna . It is the residence of the bishopric of Varna and Preslav and one of the symbols of Varna .
- Dyuni (also Duni or Dyunite) is a holiday town on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast , 40 km south of the Bulgarian city of Burgas and 7 km from Sozopol. The resort has a length of 4- 5 km and a width of over 100 m , with a beach suitable for windsurfing and other water sports in a wide bay.
- The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery, is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria . It is situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains , 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River .
- The city of Sofia . It is situated in western Bulgaria , at the northern foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The city is known for its numerous mineral and thermal springs. It is a lively city that has shaken off its Cold War image of greyness and espionage. There are galleries and museums galore, the ugly but fascinating architectural legacies of communism, street cafes, live music and throbbing clubs, and if it all gets a little too much you can explore the slopes of Mt Vitoscha, at who's foot the city stands.
- Tsarevets is a mediaeval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria . It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces.
Bulgaria Entertainment
- March: Martenitsa is a Bulgarian tradition related to the 1st of March, which has its origin in the establishment of the Bulgarian state in 681 AD. Mart is the Bulgarian word for "March". The month of March, according to Bulgarian folklore, marks the beginning of springtime. Therefore, the first day of March is a traditional holiday associated with sending off the winter and welcoming the spring.
- March-April: Easter, also known as Pascha Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April.
- May, 24: Day of Bulgarian Culture and Slavic writing
- September, 22: Independence Day
- December: Kukeri is a traditional Bulgarian ritual for driving away the evil spirits. Every year around New Year and before Lent men dressed as monsters (and called kukeri), wearing decorated wooden masks of animals (sometimes double-faced) and bells on their belts would walk around the village while dancing in order to scare the evil spirits by means of their costumes and the sound of the belts. According to the tradition, this would provide a good harvest, health and happiness in the village during the whole year.
Kolyada or koleda is the original Slavic word for Christmas. In modern Ukrainian and Russian the word's meaning has shifted from Christmas itself to denoting the tradition of strolling, singing, and having fun on Christmas Eve. The word specifically applies to children and teens who walk house to house giving out congratulations, singing and sifting grain that denotes the best wishes and receiving candy and small money in return.
Bulgaria Transports
- How to get there b y plane: There are four international airports at Sofia , Burgas, Varna and Plovdiv . There are also important domestic airports in Vidin , Pleven , Gorna Oryahovitsa, Rousse, Silistra, Targovishte, Stara Zagora , Kardzhali, Haskovo and Sliven .
- By ship: The ports of Varna and Burgas are the most important and with largest turnover. The largest Danube ports are Rousse and Lom which serves the capital.
There is well organised public transport in the cities and in many smaller towns. There are buses, troleys (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia ). The Sofia Metro in the capital is going to have 3 lines with 52 stations. Only a section of one of these is currently completed.
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