Featured Destination
Bhutan
Bhutan: A Sharp Surge in Gross National Happiness
Satiated by Kathmandu’s crowds, smells and chaos, I board the Druk Air flight – the only airline with service to Bhutan, with a sigh of relief. We have been advised to get a seat on the left side of the plane, as to be able to glimpse Everest.
But the constant peering during the hour-long flight is fruitless – all I can see is clouds. Then the pilot announces our imminent descent and, like a scene in a Monty Python film, warns the passengers to stay calm, for no apparent reason. A few minutes of slight panicking later, it is clear why – the clouds remain above us and the plane drops suddenly, verging around the surrounding mountains at such proximity that its wings seem like they will scratch the slopes.
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Epicure
Turkey
Five Delicious Aubergine Recipes
The coming of fall in the Balkans brings with it more than a drop in temperatures and a change of scenery. This time of the year also means good news in the culinary department. Full Story
Routes Less Travelled
Albania
Byllis, Albania: Ancient City in the Sky
With its fascinating ruins amid breathtaking views, the ancient city of Byllis is one of the numerous hidden treasures of south-central Albania. Founded by the Illyrians, then conquered and eventually abandoned by the Romans in 586AD, now it remains an underdeveloped and little known archaeological site.
During his trip there, BalkanTravellers.com contributor Bruce Macphail braves the area’s almost non-existent infrastructure and even goes hitch-hiking, to be awarded by a third-century BC Illyrian theatre and multiple early Christian churches’ remains on the backdrop of stunning natural landscapes. Full Story
Perishing or Jovially Surviving in Transylvania
Bulgaria
Chiprovtsi: Stooping Women Guard the Bulgarian Renaissance's Few Traces
Urban Browser
Albania
Gjirokastër: Albania’s Town of the Stones
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 Enver Hoxha and world-renowned writer Ismail Kadare, the city also brings together different elements of the country’s mixed history, representing its Byzantine, Ottoman and Communist pasts. Full Story
Turkey
Ani Fades Away in the No Man's Land between Turkey and Armenia
Bulgaria
Plovdiv: A Felicitous Stop on the Orient Express Route
Curiosity Chest
Bhutan
A Prayer Carried by the Winds
All over Bhutan – from the cities, by the roads and in villages, one can see colourful pieces of fabric, imprinted with Buddhist images and texts, blowing in the wind. These are prayer flags, unique to the Himalayan branch of Buddhism. The idea behind them is that when the wind blows, it picks up and carries the imprinted prayers to the skies, “for the benefit of all sentient beings."
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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. Full Story
Bulgaria
Bulgaria in 3 Days: Sofia and Mount Vitosha
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. Full Story
Bulgaria
Kabiyuk, The Horse "Factory" Bulgaria Inherited from the Ottoman Empire
Balkan Coasts
Gökçeada, Turkey: The Island and its Treasures
Turkey
Visiting new lands always brings excitement and a certain kind of solemnity. The row of cars, winding slowly towards the island’s interior, somehow highlights this important moment. I too am on Gökçeada (familiarly called “the Gökçe” by my friends); I too will spend a week here and then at least two months recounting tales about it. Full Story
Armenian History Floats on the Waters of Lake Van in Turkey
New Routes to Cruise in Europe – the Blue Danube All the Way to the East
Balkan Mountains
Roman Ruins and a Rural Paradise in Bulgaria’s Western Rodopi Mountains
Bulgaria
In the spot where the majestic Pirin and Rodopi Mountains come together, around 50 kilometres south of the major ski-resort of Bansko, lays perhaps the best destination for rural tourism in Bulgaria. The mineral water springs of the village of Ognyanovo and the spectacular architecture of the villages of Leshten and Kovachevitsa, situated on the rolling western-most hills of the Rodopi Mountains, were known only to Bulgarian village life afficionados until a few years ago. Recently, however, they have started to open up and attract
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Treasure-Hunting in Bulgaria’s Eastern Rodopi Mountains: Ancient Sites and Whimsical Rocks
Meteora, the Second Sky Over Greece
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
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
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
If the relentless homophobia is already that bad, what's the attitude in general towards HIV/AIDS, given the rather worrying HIV-prevalence in Eastern Europe and Russia?
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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
10 October 2008 | The Future Shorts festival, which started to take place in the UK five years ago, opens in Romania for the first time today, national media reported.
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Blog
Adrien and Martin Joly : Our Itinerary Adrien and Martin Joly : We start our journey today Christopher Deliso : Bitola Looks to the Future, as Cameras Roll
