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Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Routes Less Travelled


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... Full Story



Turkey
Sagalassos Ruins in Turkey Recover Former Splendour

On high fertile lands under a majestic snowy peak, some 100 kilometres away from the sea, Sagalassos was once a place where people reaching out to God. But God disliked it. Full Story


Turkey
Turkey’s Gateway to Europe: The Balkan Villages

Turkey is known for its many and diverse faces: from the bustling metropolis of Istanbul, through the beach resorts on its Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, the windsurfers’ paradise island of Gökçeada, the lime-water pools of Pamukkale,... Full Story


Balkans
The 12 Balkan Contenders for the New 7 Wonders

If you ever felt regret that – having been born in contemporary times, you’ll never be able to see the Seven Wonders of the World, of which only the Great Pyramid of Giza survives, y
Full Story


Turkey
Göbeklitepe: South-Eastern Turkey's 12,000 Year-Old Obelisks

Challenging commonly held ideas about human history, Haldin Aydingün describes the T-shaped obelisks of Göbeklitepe in south-eastern Turkey - a sanctuary from the 10th millennium BC. Erected 10,000 years before the founding of the Roman Empire,... Full Story


Albania
Albania: Four Reasons to Visit Europe's Least Known Country

Last fall, at the World Travel Market in London, I found myself wandering through the European stands and played a little game with myself. I decided to visit the stand of the country I felt least likely to visit next year and see if they could... Full Story


Greece
Northern Greece: Every Street Has its Own Zorbas

Away from the tourist crowds and the spots featured in advertisements, Western Macedonia is the perfect place for “diving” in the authentic Greek atmosphere. Noisy, chaotic and at the same time a little sad, this least known part of the country... Full Story


Albania
Albania: Monastery at Mesopotam, Photographed by Massimiliano Fusari

Albania might not have the highest standard of living of all the Balkan states, but it is the most mysterious country on the peninsula. Besides being travelled through and written about quite seldom, it hides many layers, buried deep under the... Full Story


Turkey
Intimations of Byzantium: Hidden History of Turkey’s Caucasus and Eastern Anatolia

Forty-five minutes from Trabzon, on the temperate Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey, Sumela rose out of a cliff, surrounded by lush verdure. The best Byzantine monasteries always take effort to reach, and this one was no exception. Visiting... Full Story


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... Full Story




Epicure


Bulgaria
Pumpkin head!

If you wish to insult somebody in Bulgarian, you could call him tikvenik – a word whose Full Story



Curiosity Chest


Serbia
The Student Cultural Centre in Belgrade, Serbia

Throughout the ups and downs in Serbia’s recent history, the Student Cultural Centre (SKC) has always been a safe haven for city artists, a place to go to remove themselves from the everyday and express themselves freely. Full Story



Useful Reads


Bosnia and Herzegovina
Povratak | By Snjezana Mulic

A powerful new novel follows the fortunes of five Bosnians, trying and not always succeeding, to find their way home. Full Story




Music


Serbia
EXIT Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia: Overnight Exile in the Fortress

Located roughly in the middle between Bulgaria's Black Sea and Croatia’s Adriatic coasts, which are both shaken by high-energy rock parties each July, Novi Sad hosts one of the most significant summer festivals on the Balkans – EXIT. As fans from all parts of the region start to gather in the town for for this year’s event, scheduled to take place between July 10 and 13, Mila Popova recounts about the time she spent at the festival last summer.

Full Story