Since the early 1990s Bulgaria has morphed into a more modern version of itself, attracting tourists with its cheap skiing, beach holidays on the Black Sea coast, bustling capital Sofia, dramatic mountains, havenlike monasteries, Roman and Byzantine ruins, and excellent coffee. Ln the villages you can still find folk who ride a donkey to work, eat homegrown potatoes and make their own cheese-the difference now is that dinner is eaten in front of a satellite TV.
April to mid-June (spring)-and in 863 to help saints Kiril and Metodii create the Cyrillic alphabet
Skiing down Bulgaria’s affordable snowy peaks Sipping full-bodied aromatic in a Sofia café Walking through the strikingly beautiful Rila Mountains, encountering deers, wild goats, eagles and falcons among the forests of fir trees and beechwoods Basking on the beach at Burgas on the Black Sea coast Sampling a glass of dark red wine at Melnik in a centuries-oil wine bar cut into the rocks Reflecting and contemplating life at revered Rila Monastery, a significant symbol of national identity
Read Bulgarian Rhapsody: The Best of Balkan Cuisine by Linda J. Forristal-an informative cookbook with delicious recipes and snippets of Bulgarian culture and history
Listen to Orthodox chants sung by a 100-strong choir at the Aleksander Nevaki Church, Sofia
Watch Under the Same Sky, an award-winning film of the Sofia lnternational Film Festival directed by Krasimir Krumov, about a 15-year-old girl who goes in search of her father
Eat Kyopolou, baked eggplant with garlic and walnuts, a Varna speciality
Drink a glass of red wine, a tradition in Bulgaria since 6 th century BC
Blagodarya, mersi (thank you)
Monasteries; feta; rose petals; ancient ruins; hearty meat and vegetable stews; kooky festivals; traditional fire-dancing
There are over 160 monasteries; rose oil is a major export; Bulgaria is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of wien
Since 1998, the Beautiful Bulgaria Project has been renovating homes and beautifying public buildings in dozens of villages in 42 municipalities including Belogradchik , Elena and Chepelare and the old town of Veliko Tarnovo. The BBP ostensibly started as an employment project for the longterm unemployed in rural Bulgaria and is now rated by the EU as the most successful employment initiative in Eastern Europe.