Location:

Situated in southeastern Europe, Bulgaria occupies the northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. To the East Bulgaria touches the Black Sea. To the South its neighbours are Greece and Turkey. Romania is to the north while Serbia and Macedonia are Bulgaria's neighbors to the west.

Key Tourist Locations:

From a tourism perspective, the most popular destinations are those on the coast together with the various skiing resorts. The Black Sea Coast is dominated by the larger more successful summer resorts such as those located at Sunny Beach, Pomorie, Sozopol and Golden Sands, all of which are serviced by two main airports at Bourgas and Varna. The mountain destinations have grown in dramatically in popularity in recent years, with the most successful of those being Bansko.

Events Overview:

Public holidays include the following:

• New Year (1 and 2 January)
• Liberation Day, National Bulgarian Day (3 March)
• Easter - one week after the Catholic Easter
• Labour day (1 May)
• Cyrillic Alphabet Day (24 May)
• Bulgaria's Unification Day (6 September)
• Bulgarian Independence Day (22 September)
• Christmas (24, 25 and 26 December)
• New Year's Eve (31 December)

Traditional Bulgarian customs:

• Trifon Zarezan on 14th February is the ancient festival of the wine growers. Vines are pruned and sprinkled with wine to ensure a bounteous harvest.
• On 1st March Bulgarians present each other with martenitsi, red and white tasselled threads which are worn for health and happiness at the coming of spring. When those adorning the martenitsi see their first stork of the season, the martenitsa is tied to the nearest tree.
• The Festival of Roses is celebrated with folk songs and dances at Kazanlak and Karlovo on the first Sunday in June.
• The Jazz Festival - 8 -13 August, Bansko
• Orpheus Music Festival - 17 - 19 June, Smolyan
• Bagpipe Festival in Gela, Rhodope Mountains - Mid August.

Language:

The largest obstacle facing visitors to Bulgaria is the language and in particular the use of the Cyrillic alphabet . Most of the tourist resorts have signs and menus translated into English, while service staff generally speak foreign languages (English or German). However, in the country side you are likely to discover that street signs are in Cyrillic with few people speaking English.

Economy:

Bulgaria has the most stable economy in the Eastern Europe region. This stability has been achieved with the assistance of the International Monetary Fund , which pegged the Bulgarian Lev to the Euro in 1998 - 1999. For additional economic information and data, visit the following link: http://investbg.government.bg/

Government:

• Government Type - Parliamentary democracy
• Government Leaders:
• President (head of government) - Georgi Purvanov
• Prime Minister (head of government) - Sergey Stanishev

History:

Founded in the year 681, Bulgaria is linked the East and West, controlling the key land routes from Europe to the Middle East and Asia. Bulgaria is a land of crossroads and remembers many ancient civilizations such as Thracians, Slavs, Romans, Byzantines and the great people who wrote the pages of its remarkable history.

Nature:

Bulgaria is distinguished by its generous and varied nature. It offers golden sands and warm sunny beaches in summer and superb skiing in winter. The country also combines cultural, eco, rural and spa tourism, natural mineral springs and spas, small picturesque villages full of tradition and folklore. For an insight into the magnificent Bulgarian landscapes, visit the following link: http://photo-forum.net/joro/

Food:

Due to its geographical location, long tumultuous history, Bulgarian cuisine has evolved as a blend of the most enjoyable Slavonic, Greek and Turkish dishes. The harvest of the Black Sea delivers fresh seafood, the fertile farms grow organic fruits and vegetables and local vineyards produce golden grapes resulting in high quality red and white wines.

Drinking water:

Tap water is safe to drink in Bulgaria. There are numerous mineral water suppliers such as Gorna Banya, Devin, Bankya and more. Mineral water is very affordable and available in 0.5 and 1.5 liter bottles.