Featured Destination
Balkans
This July, Splash Around in Four Lakes and a Dam Throughout the Balkans
As the summer comes into full swing and the temperatures in the region become unbearable, most travellers and holidaymakers to and around the Balkans head to the region's coastal resorts along the Adriatic, the Mediterranean, the Aegean or the Black Seas.
But if you’ve already explored these coasts and are seeking alternative destinations that to cool off by the water, BalkanTravellers.com provides you with five enticing opportunities to do so this July. From throughout the region, we have highlighted a group of lakes in a natural reserve in Croatia, three lakes in Serbia, Turkey, Macedonia and Albania and a man-made dam in Bulgaria. Some of them are quite popular tourist destinations; others are Full Story
Balkan Cuisine
Turkey
Balkan Culinary Wars III: Other People’s Meatballs
Ćevapčići from Leskovac, köfte from İzmir or Bulgarian kebapche? Greek keftedes too, please!
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Routes Less Travelled
Greece
The Dönmeh: the Judeo-Islamic Mystery of Thessaloniki
Neither Muslims nor Jews, but rather a bit of both, Thessaloniki’s Dönmeh were the most influential group in the city over a period of almost 400 years. The rumours that the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, was one of them remain unconfirmed. But spending a few days in present-day Thessaloniki makes one wonder whether the city has really managed to rid itself of the influence of the eclectic, and often purely extravagant, tastes of the now extinct sect. Full Story
Kosovo
Clay Faces and Hope for the Future Illuminate Kosovo
Macedonia
Tito, Teto and Some Troubled Tourism Await You in Tetovo, Macedonia
Urban Browser
Macedonia
The Macedonian Town of Ohrid, Where Time Stopped
Ohrid is slowly leaving behind its past, which embraces Medievalism, Revivalism and Communism. So much the better
When asked about Ohrid, people from other parts of Macedonia tell the following story: After God created the world and lay down to rest, the Devil got to work and set up Ohrid with all its beauties - the splendid lake, the steep mountains where the Galičica National Park is now located, a moderate climate and a fertile soil. Full Story
Subotica: Off the Highway, Beyond the Lakes
Bulgaria
Some 20 Reasons to Feast in Sofia
Curiosity Chest
Balkans
Blue Amulets Guard Against the Evil Eye in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria
If you’ve ever spent time in Turkey or Greece, you’ll surely remember the feeling that you’re constantly being watched. Blue circles in the shape of single, stylised eyes constantly observe from everywhere – dangling from cars’ rear-view mirrors, hanging on houses’ doors, adorning people’s necks, wrists and ears in the form of jewellery, or painted onto boats or even planes.
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Bulgaria 3/7/14
Bulgaria
Bulgaria in 5 days: Shumen, South of Nowhere
Patriotic ruins, a Coca Cola-branded mosque, a “stud factory” and a capsule, containing a message for future generations: these are only part of modern Shumen’s surprising charms
If there were three places in Bulgaria where one would never consider spending a week of vacation, those would probably be Pernik, Karnobat and Shumen. The last one, however, does not deserve its wretched reputation.
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Hidden Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Genghis Khan’s Descendents Swap Central Asia’s Altay for Bulgaria’s Balkan Mountain
Picture this: In the foot of the Balkan Mountain, in Central Bulgaria, tourists gather for an authentic taste. But not of the quant villages scattered in the skirts of the mountain. Rather, for an authentic taste of Mongolia.
The recent move of six Mongolians who set up their yurts on a meadow near the town of Sopot created an exotic island where visitors can experience the tastes, smells and images of Mongolia, the land of Genghis Khan.
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Kabiyuk, The Horse "Factory" Bulgaria Inherited from the Ottoman Empire
Useful reads
Albania
The Siege (2008) | By Ismail Kadare
The Siege by Ismail Kadare was published recently in English, almost 40 years after it came out in Albania. The historical novel, written during Albania’s isolation imposed by the communist regime, is a fascinating allegory of this part of the Balkans in the 1970s– a reality which no Albanian writer was allowed to describe in a more direct way at the time.
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Music Box
Bulgaria
Experimenting with Eastern Orthodox Chants
Milen Ivanov/Daniel Spasov | Thou Art Blessed, Lord |Kuker Music, 2007 Full Story
Balkan Coasts
The (Possibly) Last Outpost of the Bulgarian Black Sea’s Old Charms
Bulgaria
Only 30 kilometres from the Turkish-Bulgarian border, Ahtopol is considered to be one of the last spots that have preserved the old charms of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast. Full Story
Samothrace: Nike Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Turkey: All's Quiet Between Çanakkale and Babakale
Balkan Mountains
Meteora, the Second Sky Over Greece
Greece
The unearthly view of the 700-metre high stone pillars, crowned by monasteries, is a James Bond film décor and an inspiration to the musicians of the neo-metal band Linkin Park who named one of their albums after this place. Full Story
Bulgaria: Strandzha's Mysteries
Turkey: Guarding the Gardens of Eden
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
Annoyances in the Balkans
Balkans
Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans
Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!, appeals a poster (pictured above) that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Full Story
Insiders' Advice
Is it easy to drive in the Balkans? Depends. If you are looking for adrenalin, this is a cheap way to get it. Expats say the best tactics is not to get annoyed.
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How to pick the right time to go? Winter is beautiful in the high mountains, the problem is, it can be so cold! Then again, who cares how cold it is - the locals have a cheap cure: heavy red wine. Sometimes warmed up.
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You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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The Big Book of Travelling
United States
The Rise of Burlesque in New York: Tassels and the City
Burlesque – the more audacious relative of commedia dell'arte, is in revival. A reality in “upside down style”, this creative, witty and softer version of striptease is back on stage, following an absence of nearly 80 years. In New York, Anjeza Bojku scoped out several burlesqee venues for BalkanTravellers.com. Full Story
Thailand
A Short Guide to the Peculiarities of Thai Food
Travel News
27 June 2008 | A massive underground compound built during the totalitarian regime of Albania’s communist dictator Enver Hoxha in his city of birth, Gjirokastër, is opening up for visitors after almost four decades, national media reported today.
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Blog
Christopher Deliso : The Hurricane Christopher Deliso : Macedonia's Village Tourism Christopher Deliso : Big Railroad Blues
