Urban Browser

The Macedonian Town of Ohrid, Where Time Stopped

Ohrid is slowly leaving behind its past, which embraces Medievalism, Revivalism and Communism. So much the better

When asked about Ohrid, people from other parts of Macedonia tell the following... Full Story

Bulgaria

Plovdiv: A Felicitous Stop on the Orient Express Route

During the Ottoman Empire’s decline, merchants of rose oil, silk and linen built one of Bulgaria’s most impressive urban centres

In the middle of Djumaya – the square that marks the historical centre of Plovdiv, stands a high pillar topped... Full Story

Serbia

The Book Craze that's Got a Hold on Belgrade

Whether from a nostalgia for its existence as an imperial centre or as an escape from reality, the literary obsession of the Serbian capital grows with every passing season.

If a 24-hour bookstore is ever opened on the Balkans, the place where... Full Story

Turkey

Ani Fades Away in the No Man's Land between Turkey and Armenia

We pass by Ocakli, the last Turkish village before the border with Armenia. The mythical Armenian capital Ani, which at the end of the ninth century outshined Constantinople, Cairo, and Baghdad with its splendour, lies somewhere before us.... Full Story

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia’s Dark Icons: The Bridge on the Drina, Višegrad

Višegrad is Bosnia’s Oświęcim, where people are trying to live among the ruins of others’ tragedies and collective crimes. The Nobel prize-winning writer Ivo Andrić, who described 400 years of the town’s dramatic Balkan history, did not live... Full Story

Bulgaria

Some 20 Reasons to Feast in Sofia

Snow usually falls in Bulgaria shortly before Christmas and opens the season of the 100 holidays: an entire month of blissful laziness, during which even the bad guys are good, softened by the through of long nights with sour cabbage, stinky... Full Story

Turkey

Urfa: Before the Syrian Desert Begins

Urfa, Prophet Abraham’s city in Southeastern Turkey, inspired Gothic style, the Urfa kebab and the concept of monotheism
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Bulgaria

La Dolce Vita in Koprivshtitsa: Then and Now

“What do you think? Koprishtitsa was a republic for centuries, without senates and ministers, without charters and presidents, ten times more liberal than the French, a hundred times more democratic than the American,” Zahari Stoyanov wrote in... Full Story

Serbia

Subotica: Off the Highway, Beyond the Lakes

For some, Subotica is just a town off the Belgrade-Budapest highway. For those who haven't stopped there, that is.

“Shalom, shalom! Dear All, Invitation/ Meghívó / Pozivnica”– thus begins an invitation of Subotica’s library. For most, this... Full Story

Greece

November Weekend in Thessaloniki

If, on a Saturday morning, you wake up surprisingly early in your Sofia flat and decide that you have nothing to wear; if the thought of greasy meat stew makes you feel sick; and if you have respiratory problems that make you feel like you played... Full Story

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Balkan Cuisine

Turkey

Balkan Culinary Wars III: Other People’s Meatballs

Ćevapčići from Leskovac, köfte from İzmir or Bulgarian kebapche? Greek keftedes too, please!

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"The Balkans has a way of blending things to where they will belong..." Lonely Planet writer Chris Deliso's blog

Curiosity Chest

Bulgaria

The (Un)Usual Suspects: Bulgaria’s Top 100 Tourist Sites – Communist and Contemporary

If you thought that tourism under socialism was irreconcilably different from that in developed democratic countries, the latest travellers' mania in Bulgaria will come as a surprise. A popular trend there nowadays is the collecting of special stamps in a booklet containing a list of 100 not-to-be-missed destinations, which originates back to the 1960s. Some of Full Story

Photogalleries
A Perfect Shot

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

Annoyances in the Balkans

Balkans

Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans

Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!, appeals a poster (pictured above) that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Full Story

Insiders' Advice

If the relentless homophobia is already that bad, what's the attitude in general towards HIV/AIDS, given the rather worrying HIV-prevalence in Eastern Europe and Russia?
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Is it easy to drive in the Balkans? Depends. If you are looking for adrenalin, this is a cheap way to get it. Expats say the best tactics is not to get annoyed.
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How to pick the right time to go? Winter is beautiful in the high mountains, the problem is, it can be so cold! Then again, who cares how cold it is - the locals have a cheap cure: heavy red wine. Sometimes warmed up.
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You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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The Big Book of Travelling

United States

The Rise of Burlesque in New York: Tassels and the City

Burlesque – the more audacious relative of commedia dell'arte, is in revival. A reality in “upside down style”, this creative, witty and softer version of striptease is back on stage, following an absence of nearly 80 years. In New York, Anjeza Bojku scoped out several burlesqee venues for BalkanTravellers.com. Full Story

Thailand