Russian Tourists Flock to Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and the Rest of the Balkans
Balkan Travellers
Greece expects a 30 per cent climb in the number of Russian tourists who come to the country this year, Greek media reported recently. On the occasion of the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two states, the Greek Tourism Minister Aris Spiliotopoulos said his country will aim to attract Russian tourists throughout the year, not just in the summer months.
This is also the aim of neighbouring Bulgaria, which has seen the number of Russian tourists increase by 60 per cent in the last three years. Just in January and February of this year, nearly 50 per cent more visa applications, compared with the same period of 2007, were submitted to the Bulgarian consular services in Moscow.
Since last week, accredited tour operators from Russia are able to submit visa applications online to Bulgaria’s Moscow consulate. The move is intended to facilitate the visa acquisition procedure and will likely be applied to the Bulgarian consulates in Saint Petersburg, Kiev and Belgrade as well.
The ease with which Russians acquire visas to Turkey – at the airport, for a 15 euro fee, has contributed to making Turkey one of the most popular tourism destinations for Russians. For both 2006 and 2007, Turkey was the Russians’ most favourite destination: attracting 1.47 million and 2.2 million Russian tourists for the two years, respectively.
While the numbers for the remaining Balkan states are not so impressive, they nevertheless testify for a solid growth in Russian tourists. For example, Croatia was visited by 73,621 Russian tourists in 2006, while only for the period between January and August of 2007, the number grew almost two-fold, to 122,732.
Read more about Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia on BalkanTravellers.com
Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia
Epicure
Bulgaria
Shopska Salad: Three common mistakes
To Bulgarians, Shopska salad is a bit like the scrambled eggs case – while it looks as if there is no way to screw the dish, in fact its proper preparation requires nothing less then utter care and devotion. In this case – in selecting the right products and adjusting the proportions. Full Story
Curiosity Chest
Balkans
The Red and White Strings that Welcome Spring in Bulgaria and Romania
I remember walking along Canal Street in New York’s Chinatown on March 2 a few years ago, when I saw a man sporting a small ornament made of red and white thread pinned to his coat lapel. He must be Bulgarian, I thought to myself with a sudden rush of homesickness, but now realize that he may have been Romanian as well.
Full Story
Useful Reads
Bulgaria
Street without a Name: Childhood and Other Misadventures in Bulgaria (2008) | By Kapka Kassabova
Danube blues
Text by Nicholas Lezard for The Guardian*
Full Story
Music
Bulgaria
The Choir that Turned England a Bit Bulgarian
One of the few constant sources of pride for Bulgarians is traditional folk music, and especially singing. But not the Oriental-beats-modified kind that often booms in nightclubs, giving their clientele the urge to jump atop tables and chairs and sway their hips around; rather the kind that, when heard, mesmerises you and gives you goose bumps, the kind that is haunting with its out-of-this universe quality, mostly figuratively but sometimes literally as well.
Full Story
-
Photogalleries
-
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
