Sunday, 12 February 2012



Croatia and Turkey Names Top Cruise Destinations



BalkanTravellers.com   

22 February 2010 | Croatia and Turkey were named top cruise destinations in 2009 by the Spanish Cruise News Media Group.

The two countries received Excellence Cruise Awards by the group, which consists of experts on travel by ship in the world, at a special ceremony in the Spanish city of Malaga.

According to the Croatian tourism board, cited by the Croatian Times, cruises are a growing segment of tourism in the country.

As BalkanTravellers.com reported last year, the Croatian cities of Dubrovnik and Split were nominated for the Europe's Leading Cruise Port category as part of the 2009 World Travel Awards, known as the tourism Oscars.

The number of passengers who visited Croatia on cruisers doubled in the last four years and reached a total of almost one million passengers in 2009, according to data by Croatia’s Central Bureau of Statistics, cited by the Croatian Times.

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Epicure


Kosovo
Kosovo Winemaking Badly Hit After Independence and Serbia’s Boycott

November 2009 | Kosovo’s total wine exports have decreased by more than half Full Story



Curiosity Chest


Kosovo
The Balkans: Natural Born Historians

The obsession with history is so commonplace on the Balkans that local people do not even notice it. For outsiders, however, it quickly becomes a part of the experience of being precisely in the Balkans and nowhere else. Raymond Detrez, a Belgian scholar of Bulgarian and Balkan Studies, describes this sometimes entertaining and other times annoying, and even dangerous, social phenomenon. Full Story



Useful Reads


Greece
In Sfakia: Passing Time in the Wilds of Crete (2008) | By Peter Trudgill

Crete has long been acknowledged as one of the most singular and unique parts of Greece. Its people keep a fierce hold on their traditions, customs and history. Practically a country of its own, this vast island looms over all others in Greece. Nevertheless, as In Sfakia author Peter Trudgill aptly notes in his preface, “some parts of Crete are more special than others, and Sfakia, on the remote south coast, is certainly one of those.” Full Story




Music


Macedonia
Macedonia: Esma Redžepova's Passion for Humanity

"A Gypsy from the city of Skopje", as she calls herself, Esma Redžepova has more than 40 years of singing and humanitarian efforts under her belt. Full Story