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
Bulgaria
Pumpkin head!
If you wish to insult somebody in Bulgarian, you could call him tikvenik – a word whose content isn’t quite clear, and which Bulgarians use to mean anything from ‘thickhead’ to ‘airhead’. The good thing about this kind of insult is that it expresses your definite lack of approval, Full Story
News
Albania
Albania Extends Motorised Boats Ban, to Detriment of Tourism
8 February 2010 | In an effort to fight illegal trafficking, Albania’s parliament adopted another three-year ban on the use of motorised boats, which critics say hamper the country’s tourist industry. Full Story
Serbia
Low Cost Flights Make Serbia’s Capital More Visible on Europe’s Tourism Market
Turkey
1,800-Year-Old Greek Church to be Restored in Bodrum, Turkey
Routes Less Travelled
Romania
Bukovina: Romania's Centre of Spirituality
The northern province of Moldova -- known as Bukovina -- is an ethnological and religious enclave intended to symbolize Christianity's triumph against the paganism.
Many of the Bukovina monasteries were built by the Moldavian voivodes as a token of gratitude to God after each victory in battles against the Turks. The unique beauty of their external frescos, which attract thousands of tourists, prompted the UN to enter seven of them on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1993. Full Story
Romania’s Haţeg Land: Shades of Blue
Turkey
Turkey: The Troubadours of Allah
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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Hidden Sofia
Bulgaria
Jacqueline, Tetris or Zhechka: The Beehive of a Building
Jacqueline is a beauty. She’ll catch your eye with her warm colours and her dynamic silhouette. Built between 2005 and 2008, she is the creation of architects Rositsa and Plamen Bratkovi. Full Story
Bulgaria
The Women’s Market: New Stockings in the Day and Old Found Objects in the Night
Bulgaria
Checkmate in front of the National Theatre, Sofia
Hidden Bulgaria
Bulgaria
From Sofia to the Village of Lakatnik in an Old Locomotive
About a century after Ivan Vazov wrote his short story “To Zhaluysha with Iron Train Cars,” in which he remarked on the great strides in railroad progress and development, present-day journalist, writer and photographer Stefan Galibov also took a train journey Full Story
Bulgaria
Go Green in Bulgaria: 23 Eco-Hotels and Guest Houses to Choose From
Bulgaria
Bulgaria in 5 days: Shumen, South of Nowhere
Balkan Coasts & Mountains
Ararat: The Mountain Where Noah’s Journey Ended
Turkey
Eastern Turkey, 10 kilometres from the Iranian border. The raven-strewn landscape is a barren yellowish red. On one side rises Ararat, the twin-topped dormant volcano that is rightly considered as one of the world’s most impressive sights. Full Story
Ten Things To Do in Pamukkale
Three Weekend Getaway Destinations in Bulgaria
Balkan Towns
The Macedonian Town of Ohrid, Where Time Stopped
Macedonia
Ohrid is slowly leaving behind its past, which embraces Medievalism, Revivalism and Communism. So much the better Full Story
Turkey: Stroll Along Istanbul’s Theodosian Walls
An Incomparable Inertia: Skopje to Saloniki by Rail
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
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