About Bulgaria
The Land of roses, Bulgaria, is a small country of ancient culture, scenic beauty, friendly people, hospitality and warmth. Bulgaria is situated in south-eastern Europe. It occupies the central part of Balkan peninsula on both sides of the Balkan Range (the Balkans), from which the peninsula hase taken its name. The gratest part of the northern border with Romania passes along the Danube, and the eastern border is the Black Sea. The land borders with Yugoslavia and Macedonia to the west, with Turkey to the south-east, and with Greece to the south. Bulgaria sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, right in the belly of the Balkans.
Any journey of length showcases the country's amazing variety of landforms. From the banks of the Danube, a windswept plain slopes up to the rounded summits of the Stara Planina. This east-west range runs right across the northern half of the country from the Black Sea to Yugoslavia. Southern Bulgaria is even more mountainous. Musala Peak (2925m) in the Rila Mountains south of Sofia is the highest mountain between the Alps and Transcaucasia, and is almost equalled by Vihren Peak (2915m) in the Pirin Massif farther south. The Rodopi Mountains stretch east along the Greek border from Rila and Pirin, separating the Aegean Sea from the Thracian Plain of central Bulgaria. This plain opens onto the Black Sea coast with great bays and coastal lakes at Varna and Burgas.
Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cold damp winters and hot dry summers. Sofia has average daily temperatures above 15°C (59°F) from May to September, above 11°C (51.8°F) in April and October, above 5°C (41°F) in March and November, and below freezing in December and January. Beaches on the Black Sea Coast can get filled in the summer. The coast is very calm from mid-September to mid-May.
Bulgarian is a South Slavic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Saints Cyril and Methodius, two brothers from Thessaloniki, invented the Cyrillic script in the 9th century and one of the strong bonds between Bulgarians and Russians is their shared use of this alphabet. An ancient Greek myth ascribes a Thracian origin to Orpheus and the Muses. Orthodox religious chants convey the mysticism of regional fables and legends, whereas the spontaneous folk songs and dances of the villages meld classical origins with a strong Turkish influence. International interest in Bulgarian vocal music was ignited by groups such as Le Mystere des Voix Bulgaires, who have taken Bulgaria's polyphonic female choir singing to a world audience.