Featured Destination
Albania
Albania's Sexual Revolution Overpowers Virginity Cult
Altin has come home to find a virgin. Tall, good-looking and in his thirties, he is back from Britain where he has worked for more than a decade, seeking an appropriate girl to marry. But three weeks into his stay at his hometown of Korce in southern Albania, the hunt is proving frustrating. Full Story
Epicure
Greece
Wines to drink this summer in the Balkans
31 May 2011 | If you wonder which wines to drink this year while in the Balkans, try these three: Two Moons 2010, white, made of the Greek variety Assyrtiko by Georgios Karamitros in Thessaly; The Tear of the Pine 2010, white, Assyrtiko, of Domaine Stelios Kechris in Thessaloniki; Graševina Principovac, 2008, red, made of the Croatian variety Grasevina Full Story
News
Balkans
Romania, Albania and Turkey Sell “Racist Cookies”
14 September 2011 | Black Man chocolate flavoured cookies, which were spotted on sale in Romania, Albania and Turkey this week, triggered heated discussions on Internet. Their shape of “a man with braids, a wide nose and big lips” was seen as an attempt at profiting from racial stereotypes. Full Story
Albania
Albania Improves Competitiveness Ranking
Albania
Albania Abolishes Visas for Additional Ex-Soviet Citizens
Routes Less Travelled
Albania
Albania: Four Reasons to Visit Europe's Least Known Country
Last fall, at the World Travel Market in London, I found myself wandering through the European stands and played a little game with myself. I decided to visit the stand of the country I felt least likely to visit next year and see if they could change my mind.
Albania was top of the list, as I had a picture of a country still recovering from its communist years, with a bleak capital of Tirana blighted by concrete architecture. Full Story
Byllis, Albania: Ancient City in the Sky
Albania
Albania: Monastery at Mesopotam, Photographed by Massimiliano Fusari
Curiosity Chest
Albania
Bunkers in Albania Converted into Hotels and Bars with Stunning Views
18 May 2010 | In Albania, projects to convert some of the 750,000 bunkers built during Enver Hoxha’s totalitarian regime and scattered all over the country into hotels, cottages and bars are underway. Full Story
Hidden Sofia
Bulgaria
From Soviet Saviours to American Superheroes and Back: Sofia Keeps Pace with the Times
21 June 2011 | Just four days after an anonymous graffiti artist transformed the Soviet Red Army monument in the centre of Sofia, turning it into a congregation of various comic-book characters Full Story
Bulgaria
Sklada: The Space that Stores and Showcases Contemporary Design
Bulgaria
Before and After: A Tango Milonga in the Midst of Sofia
Hidden Bulgaria
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. Full Story
Balkan Coasts & Mountains
Fresh Fish, Olives, and the Albanian Bay of Ksamil: All to Yourself
Albania
Albania remains a rough diamond, undiscovered territory, the most challenging destination in Europe. Bob Berwyn of the Summit County Citizens Voice selects pictures from his travel files to compose this simple, and yet charming photo story, in which places and people stand out full of character. Full Story
This July, Splash Around in Four Lakes and a Dam Throughout the Balkans
The Blue Eye Water Spring in Southern Albania Beckons with Coolness
Balkan Towns
Gjirokastër: Albania’s Town of the Stones
Albania
The city of Gjirokastër in the southern part of Albania has several claims to fame. Besides being the birthplace of two of the most important Albanians – communist dictator Full Story
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
Koprivshtitsa Fair, Bulgara. Photographs by Neva Micheva
In Homo Urbanus Europeanus, exhibited May 9-24 in front of the National Theatre in Sofia, Jean-Marc Caracci presents his photographs of people in the urban environment of European capitals.
RED&WHITE SOFIA. On the 1st of March Bulgarians say goodbye to the winter. They buy each other red&white threads to carry around until they see a stork and spring can begin. Photography by Lode Desmet
BULGARIA D'OR: The Bulgarian countryside, patinated with the noble golden dust of the autumn. Photographs by Lode Desmet
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
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