Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Albania Discuss Alternative Tourism Development
BalkanTravellers.com
The roundtable, themed “Possibilities for the development of alternative tourism,” was hosted by the town of Berovo in Macedonia. The municipalities that participated in it included Sandanski, Bansko and Strumyani in south-western Bulgaria, Fier and Erseka in southern Albania, Berovo, Štip and Delchevo in eastern Macedonia and Brus in central Serbia.
The main problems and challenges that stood before the local authorities were discussed during the roundtable, the Bulgarian Telegraph agency reported.
Albanian local authority representatives expressed interest in a partnership with the authorities of the Sandanski municipality, in order to exchange experience and good practices with an EU member state, the publication noted.
In addition, there was a meeting in the Novo Selo municipality in south-eastern Macedonia, just across the border from the Sandanski municipality, to discuss the two offices’ joint project for the improvement of the tourist infrastructure of the Rozhen village and medieval monastery, located in the Sandanski municipality.
As BalkanTravellers.com reported in July, Macedonia has already stated its intention to develop its rural and alternative tourism in the past.
Read Christopher Deliso’s blog post about Macedonian efforts to develop rural tourism on BalkanTravellers.com
Read more about Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania and Serbia on BalkanTravellers.com
Use BalkanTravellers.com's tips to organize your trip to Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia
Epicure
Turkey
Izmir Gourmet: Food is in the Air
Food is literally everywhere in Izmir.
The first stop a traveller would usually make, is Passaport – the vivid promenade along the seaside, which has turned into a landmark with its black and white pavement.
Full Story
Curiosity Chest
Turkey
Santa Claus Museum in Turkey to Attract Newlyweds and Tourists
4 May 2010 | A Turkish travel agency intends to popularize the birthplace of Santa Claus’s prototype, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, in present-day Turkey, not just as a tourist but also as a wedding destination. Full Story
Useful Reads
Turkey
A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire (2008) | By M. Şűkrű Hanioğlu
Far too often, the narrative of the collapse of an empire becomes a moral drama. Wealth is drained away by decadence, and power undercut by corruption. There are attempts at recovery, reform, re-consolidation; perhaps a war, or a grand alliance, or another gamble which seems mad in hindsight. Private fiefdoms emerge, tribes break away, and hostile external powers chip away at the borders.
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
-
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
