Friday, October 11, 2013

Exploring Bulgaria

By David Francis


Bulgaria is among the most beautiful countries in Europe. It is located on Balkan Peninsula and boasts with its great nature that contains high mountain ranges, vast beautiful lowlands, Black Sea coast with great beaches and summer resorts, balneo and spa centers, ski resorts as well as many other interesting places and attractions.

Black Sea coast is considered to be the main sight that attracts thousands of foreigners during each summer season in Bulgaria. Two of the main beach resorts are Sunny Beach, which is the biggest one and located near to the big city of Bourgas; and Golden Sands, located near to Varna, a beautiful coastal city, known also as Bulgarian Sea capital. There are many other beach resorts along the coast that can complete even with the popular Greece and Spain resorts. They offer cheaper prices and great sunny beaches with a lot of entertainments, facilities, restaurants and night clubs for long or short summer holidays.

Along the coast, beautiful small ancient towns of Balchik, Sozopol and Nesebar are located that attract people from all over the world who are interested in archaeology and valuable relics of the past.

The beauty and attraction of this country is not limited to the coast and the beach resorts, which are actually only a small part of Bulgarian treasures. It offers a lot more sights in other parts of the country, where tourists can meet with local people's culture, traditions and significant landmarks.

Rila Monastery is the most famous and reputable monastery in Bulgaria, visited by many locals and tourists throughout the year. It lies between the Rila Mountain's recesses opening a scenic panorama that tourists just cannot pass by. It is believed that the monastery is founded by the famous hermit St. John of Rila, who lived in a cave not too far away from the place where the monastery is built. He started its construction in the 10th century and the last reconstruction of the monastery is made in 19th century.

This is not the only attraction that the Rila Mountain can offer. Another popular attraction beloved by the nature lovers is called Seven Rila Lakes, which form a natural mountain cirque. All of these lakes have specific form and name. "The Tear" is the highest lake, found at 2535 meters in height, while "The Eye" is the deepest lake. As the name suggests "The Kidney" is in the form of kidney, while "The Twins" is the longest lake that is split into two parts. "Three-Lobed Lake" has a strange irregular form, "The Fish Lake" is the shallowest of all and "The Low Lake" is the lowest one located at 2095 meters in height.

Another beautiful place to visit is a medieval stronghold called Tsarevets and located in the Veliko Turnovo's old town. The city of Veliko Tarnovo is very beautiful itself, being a former Bulgarian capital and natural fortress.

Another gorgeous place to visit is located in the central Bulgaria, in the beautiful small town of Gabrovo. There is an open ancient ethnographic museum, Etara that shows Bulgarian ethnography, folklore and architecture in its authentic form. Tourists can see how the craftsmen make traditional dishes and other ancient handicrafts and buy them as souvenirs.




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