Bulgaria

Republic of Bulgaria is a country situated in South Europe, part of The European Union and NATO. The country is positioned into the heart of the Balkan Peninsula with a very ancient and rich history. Thracians, Elins, ancient Romans, Slavs and Bulgarian ihabited those land, leaving after them monuments and signs inriching the world cultural treasury.

Population. Bulgaria is spread over 111 000 km² and its population is average of 8 millions. The capital is Sofia. The country is divided in two by Stara Planina and the borders of Black Sea on east, Romania on north, Turkey and Greece on south, and Serbia, Monte Negro and Macedonia on west.

Climate. The climate of most part of Bulgaria is a continental with cold winter and hot summer. There are four seasons: cold and sometimes moist winter with snow and average temperature 0°C, warm and sometimes moist spring, hot and dry summer with average temperature 26°C, and a sunny autumn. Average annual temperature is 12°C.

Language. Official language is Bulgarian, which is spoken by 95% of the population. Turkish is for the biggest minority group. Other popular languages along the inhabitances are English, German, Italian and Russian.

Currency. Official currency is still LEV, but you can use Euro.

1lev =
USD	1.26370
GBP	2.55130
EUR	1.95583

National cousine

Bulgarian nation is composed by many different ethnos, influenced the contemporary Bulgarian manner of life and the cuisine. Benchmarks of the Bulgarian cuisine are Shopska, Sneganka and trushiq salata and as a main dish are banica, beat and meat balls. BG mark is the famous yoghurt.

Traditions

Bulgaria is a country with rich history and traditions, but Bulgarians are nation, who are always trustful to their custom. One of most popular and internationally famous usage is the fire-dancing. The fire-dancing is a typical national tradition, which roots can be traced back to the ancient pagan times. The most attractive part of the fire-dance is the barefooted women dancing on hot coals, which after all became their habit, strengthen during the centuries. The ceremony is usually performed on the celebration of St. St. Constantine and Helena on 3th and 4th June. Participants of the celebration are the whole village, but only the women are the holly devoted participants in the fire dance. It is believed that those people are chosen by the Saint, patron of this holiday, for the dance and during that time their seeing his image and hearing his voice. People believe that those devoted persons going into fire coals barefooted, are buying up the sins of the others. Fire-dancing is a charisma, can not be inherited from parents, but it is a gift that is finding the right people by itself.

See sights

There are unique natural see sights in Bulgaria as:

Belogradchik Rocks - group of bizarre sandstone and limestone rock formations, reaching up to 200 m in height. Their form is an unregular peaks, 30 km long and up to 3 km wide. They are located north of the western slopes of Stara Planina, near the town of Belogradchik in Bulgaria. The formations are a product of erosion; Region of Rogen in Rhodope Mountains, Iskyr prolom, mouth of the river Ropotomo and Velika;

Trigrad Gorge - a canyon of vertical marble rocks in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria's very southern parts. The gorge encloses the course of the Trigrad River that plunges into the Devil's Throat cave and 530 m further comes out as a large karst spring;Wonderful Bridges-a rock formation in the Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria, at 1,450 metres above sea level, at the foot of Persenk peak.The "bridges" were formed by erosive activity of once high-water river. It transformed the marble clefts into a deep water cave, the ceiling of which whittled up through time and collapsed, allegedly during an earthquake. Geologists suppose that the water carried the debris away;

Seven Rila Lakes - group of lakes of glacial origin, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains in Bulgaria. They are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2,100 and 2,500 metres elevation above sea level; 100 lakes and caves popular worldwise. There are 600 hot and cold mineral and geophysics springs. The highest peak in Bulgaria and on Balkans is called Musala-2925 m.